The Memoirs of Sankari: Pride of the Fire Nation
by th3rdhal3
Summary: Adopted into the Fire Nation, Sankari, also a bending prodigy, grows up a warrior in the missunderstood nation with Ty Lee, Mai and Azula. But obstacles form in her life, clouding her judgement on what is the right thing and the smart thing. Character OC
1. Meeting Azula

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar (though that would be pretty cool :p)  
Rating: **PG-13**- for violence, language, certain themes/elements and inuendoes that will be discovered as you read :D

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first fanfic. I consider myself a pretty decent writer but that's not necessarily the truth. If there is anything that I should or need to work on feel free to let me know. Also, if it seems as though more description or detail is needed in parts, please please tell me as soon as possible! It's my biggest pet peeve when author's don't use good sensory detail and what not :D anyway, that is all and enjoy!  
~th3rdhal3~

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Water, Earth. Fire. Air. "Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony." If you believed that, then your head must be up your ass. There was almost never a balance. Not a single history book has the right facts. And you can be damn sure that none of the four nations have the entire story together either. I can vogue for the Fire Nation however. They were always written off as the 'bad guys.' And maybe that was true at one point. But not how I remembered it. The Fire Nation began to expand its territory because we were the smallest nation. Needless to say, I helped them, I was there when it all began; I was involved. I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember it all.

When I was a little girl, my home was destroyed. I was so young that I don't remember much about it. I was separated from my family in the chaos. Scared and alone, I was found wondering the outskirts of towns by a Fire Nation official named General Tsong. He tried gently asking me who I was and where I had come from. But because all the trauma had already gone to my head, I couldn't even tell him what my name was. Somehow, from that early age, I recognized the kindness in his heart. Most other nations thought the Fire Nation to be cold-hearted and selfish. This was not entirely true. Tsong adopted me as his daughter and renamed me, Sankari. And pretty soon, I was boarding a ship with him and other soldiers, leaving the Earth Kingdoms behind. It was strange but the only memories I had left of home were of my baby cousin; she was the cutest thing imaginable. I remembered her smooth, pale white skin; her sweet grin and the bluest eyes I had ever seen. I held onto those memories and I never let them go.

The trauma had a lasting effect on me. I didn't begin to speak until I was five years old, but even then I wasn't very social. Early on, I knew there was something different about me than the other children in the Fire Nation. I never played games or even interacted with them for that matter. Instead, I wanted to learn the fighting arts. My father was a fire-bender, and a good one at that. He showed me simple moves and steps using fire so that I could master the basics at an early age. Surprisingly enough, I was a fast learner. A _very _fast learner. Within two days of my father showing me what a flame crafted by a five year old would look like, I managed to produce a flame that someone 12 or older could produce. He was a good mentor. He praised me often and told me how well disciplined I was for a child. But fire was only half the battle.

For the next few years I studied multiple forms of martial arts with my father; practicing forms, kicks and punches again and again until I performed them flawlessly. I wanted every move to be precise. I was also guilty of perfectionism. Several years after I had been adopted as a child of the Fire Nation, I was quite knowledgeable in the fighting arts. Also around that time, my father was called upon to undertake an important mission for Firelord Azulon. One night, he explained to me that he would be leaving soon. I wasn't so small and helpless anymore, but I wasn't quite old enough to take care of myself. He informed me that he had something special in mind; while he would be away with the fleets of soldiers, I would continue my training with other children my age, including the ones from the royal family. Though I had never really spend much time with any of the other children, my father encouraged me to think optimistically about the idea. Deep down inside I had been secretly longing for a friend. I went to bed with and open mind that night.

The next day, I dressed in my best training uniform and my father took me to the vast courtyard inside the Palace, with a pond full of Turtle-Ducks and purple and green Willow Tree. There were a few others already there. My stomach felt slightly queasy, but I remembered what my father told me. "Go in with a smile, Sankari. You will never know anything in life unless you accept." As we approached the other trainees, I noticed a girl off to the side. She wore all pink and was all smiles. She instantly waved at me as she caught me eye. I returned the gesture hesitantly. I wished that I could be that happy. But my father was leaving at the end of the week. How could I be happy? My only friend was leaving and I didn't know for how long. There was another girl, to the left of the one in pink; she had a solemn look on her face. Her hair was as black as a Raven's. If looks could kill, nearly everyone in the entire courtyard would be dead. That was almost how I felt, minus the wanting everyone dead part.

As my father and I drew nearer to the group, one of the adults came towards us. His hair was long and partly pulled up in the back, and he wore elegant robes of black, red and yellow. He was one of the Firelord's sons.

"So this is your little one?" Ozai inquired at my father, smiling warmly at me. My father put his hand on my small shoulder and chuckled to himself.

"She's not so little anymore." he spoke the truth. I had indeed grown over the last five years. Ozai laughed with him, beckoning us to join the others.

"I know exactly what you mean, General. My own have grown before my eyes." I prepared myself to meet his children. "This is my son." He placed his hands on the shoulders of a boy a little bit older than myself. The boy looked a lot like his father-obviously younger of course. Also like his father, his his dark brown hair was pulled back but into a high ponytail. The boy gave me a curt smile and reached his hand out to shake mine.

"My name is Zuko." he introduced himself. I took his hand. His grasp was firm but also gentle in a way. He seemed very polite and respectful for someone his age.

"I'm Sankari." I managed to stammer. My speech and social skills were not very good at that age still. _Well that wasn't half bad,_ I thought to myself, for I honestly had thought this day was going to be a train wreck. Funny how I learned that I had proven myself wrong later.

Then, Ozai began to introduce me to his daughter. From the moment I met Azula, I knew she was going to be a problem. Her uniform consisted of the colors light red and blood red. Her arms were folded, clearly showing that she would've rather been elsewhere. She blew one of the strands of hair, that hung down before each of her ears, out of her way. "You sound funny." she jeered at me. Shot to my self-esteem. Azula: 10 Sankari: -1. There was nothing I could say back to her, so I just took the comment like it was nothing. Ozai gave her a stern look. "But daddy, doesn't she sound funny?" she looked up at him. _What a brat, _I bitterly groaned in my mind. Ozai then whispered something into her ear. I imagined it was something along the lines of 'Don't make fun of the retarded girl in front of you. She has a speech problem because she was traumatized. So even though you probably insulted her enough to make her stop speaking for good, just make sure not to do so again. Have a nice day.'

She rolled her eyes and relaxed her arms to her sides. I remembered that even then her voice was demanding and enticing at the same time. "I'm Azula."she sounded bored, as if she didn't care whether or not I was a human girl or a 400 pound platypus-bear about to eat her for lunch. When Ozai wasn't looking, she stuck her tongue out at me. I was about to do the same back at her, but then decided not to because my father would most likely disapprove. To Ozai's right, Zuko gave me a look that seemed to say 'Don't mind my nutsy sister.' I felt a little better and supposed that nothing worse could happen.

The rest of the other children seemed fairly nice, or at least they pretended to be. With that being said, Azula definitely needed some acting lessons. My father and I left shortly after the meet and greet. I wouldn't actually be practicing with them until the next day."So what did you think of Azula?" My father asked on our walk back to our house.

"I hate her." My father chuckled at how quickly I responded to his question.


	2. Day One of Training

Well, I technically didn't _hate _Azula because I didn't really know her. That was my policy; I never judged people until I got to know them. But since her first impression was not a good one, I figured that I wasn't going to like her very much.

The next morning, I was awoken by gentle shakes.

"Wake up, Sankari. You're expected back at the palace to practice with the children." Despite what my father said, I buried myself deeper into my pillow and pulled the covers up over my head. He laughed but then became serious again. "We're not going to be late on your first day of training." He informed me as he exited my room. "So I would suggest you get dressed and hurry your little self up before I have to fire-bend some quickness into you." My father's sense of humor was interesting. He had a gentle way of threatening which I found amusing. I knew he was always joking though.

I picked my lazy butt up out of bed, which was quite sad because I liked to sleep..._a lot. _I grabbed my Fire Nation school uniform ad stepped into it. I found it funny how I owned it because I had never attended school in the Fire Nation. My father taught me everything he knew about most subjects. He was a skilled warrior and also very knowledgeable.

I lazily dragged myself out of my room and into the bathroom down the hall. My father was already in there, trimming uneven hairs near his black side-burns. He also needed to shake every now and then. He was only in his mid thirties and he did not want to start growing a beard until he was older. I grabbed my brush from one of the drawers and began fixing my 'luscious locks' of long chestnut colored hair, as I referred to call them. I pulled a bunch of strands in my face so that my facial feature were completely hidden. I paused for a moment, then turned to glance at my father.

"Boo." I half-heartedly droned. He stared at me for a moment in silence before busting out into a fit of laughter. I grinned impishly from behind my sanctuary of hair.

"You are quite the joker." He put down his razor and smiled at me. Then he noticed how my left hand kept moving back and forth across the bathroom counter, and yet I wasn't conscious of it. My father gave me a concerned look. I got the message after a minute or so and glanced at my hand moving back and forth repeatedly. I placed my right hand on to of it, stopping the motion. Oh yeah, I guess I didn't mention my disorder.

It was called the Sensory Sickness. That meant that I did things uncontrollably or subconsciously, if you will. But the disorder didn't only concern movement or motions. I would also blurt things out from time to time without even realizing it. Doctors had discovered that I was a victim of this disorder about a year and a half ago. My father and I noticed that my symptoms acted up more when I was anxious or stressed out about something.

"It's going to be okay." He knelled down to my level. "I know you're a little nervous about interacting with any of the other children, but you'll be fine. He reassured me. I sighed deeply and looked down. "I wouldn't have arranged this with Ozai if I didn't think you were capable." My spirit rose again. My father always believe in me and his support was all it took to change my attitude.

"Okay Dad, I think I'm ready." He smiled back at me and ruffled my hair.

After a small bite to eat, we began to walk to the palace courtyard. My stomach flip-flopped all the way there. Indeed I was nervous, but then I recalled how proud my father appeared when he told me that he thought I was capable enough to learn alongside Ozai's children. Right then, I wished that I had more self-confidence.

Besides Zuko and Azula, there were five more kids that day: Naomi, Sameer, Roje, Aram and Quinn. In the first part of the day, we practiced forms, kicks and punches with Master Fao, a tall slender fire-bending master. My father, Ozai and a few other parents, watched from the edges of the courtyard. We practiced the 'basics' with fire, which I thought was baby stuff because I had already been taught most of the techniques. Fao eyed us carefully for those first two hours; watching every move we made. I soon realized why. Towards mid-day, we changed gears.

"Now we are going to do something a little different than what we've been working on. You will be sparring next." Master Fao informed us. Sameer, the boy with short hair that was slightly spiked in the front, cheered loud enough to himself to earn a glare from Master Fao. The boy bowed his head apologetically and Fao continued. "For the last couple of hours I have been studying each of you carefully." _That didn't sound creepy at all, _I kept my thoughts to myself. "I am going to pair you up according to skill level, and then two pairs will come up and spar while the others observe." He explained. I breathed in slowly. I had never sparred with anyone close to my own age. When I had been learning, I had only sparred against my father and even then he had gone easy on me. I fidgeted anxiously as Fao paired us up.

"Quinn and Sameer," Fao began. "Roje and Naomi," Though I didn't want to assume anything about anyone, I secretly guessed that Roje would be the underdog.; only because I could see something in Naomi's expression that I didn't see in Roje's. There was something about Naomi's stare that made her seem stronger than the small, dark haired Roje. But I didn't want to judge. "Zuko and Aram." Aram, well built with a clean cut of black hair nodded towards Zuko who did the same in return. I began to smile at Zuko because he had shown me kindness the previous day, but then I stopped. There were eight of us; four girls and four boys. My stomach dropped as I realized that that left Azula and I...

The bitter girl glared at me with pure resentment. My stomach free-fell. Oh there was no way in hell. I was sure that I had misheard Fao, but sure enough, Roje and Naomi, and Quinn and Sameer were already facing one another in fighting stances. Zuko and Aram were sitting down near one another a little ways away from me. That meant that I _did _have to spar Azula.

My fingers tightened around the grass I was sitting upon. Only moments before did Master Fao give the command to begin. Though we were banned from fire-bending in these sparring matches, the two pairs were doing quite fine with only their martial arts. I understood why Sameer was so excited about sparring: The short haired boy was like a monkey-bouncing back and forth as he circled with Quinn, throwing punches and kicks like it was nothing. Though Quinn was mostly on the defense for the first half of the match, he blocked and evaded effortlessly. Sameer rarely got the chance to hit him. But since Sameer moved so much it was hard for Quinn to take a shot at him as well.

To the left of Master Fao, Naomi and Roje were going at it. The small girl had proven my earlier thoughts wrong. However, I was right about Naomi; the girl had a fighter's instinct. Like Sameer, she was all up on the offense-striking noticeably more than her opponent. Roje may have seemed small and timid to me at first, but at that moment she proved to be the exact opposite. She rose up against Naomi's powerful attacks; though Roje was mainly defending , her blocks and technique were so sharp and accurate, that it appeared as though she was striking back at Naomi.

As good as she was at evading, Roje was still hit by the other girl, but I noticed that if anything, Naomi was the one who was struck the most. I also noticed that Naomi was beginning to tire slightly faster than Roje. Her eyebrows furrowed under her light brown bangs and I knew she must have been thinking of ways to outsmart Roje in combat. Naomi tried the reverse punch-punching with your non-dominant hand. Roje wasn't exactly expecting that because she had figure that Naomi was right handed early on. That was one of the few times Naomi was able to catch Roje off guard. I sat there, taking it all in; both fights, not wanting to miss a single thing. I soaked in the fours' movements, watching and learning what the best moves were and how they worked.

A few minutes later, Master Fao stopped the matches; all too soon in my opinion. He took a few moments to praise the four on their efforts and told them their errors. Fao suggested to Sameer that he should balance out defense and offense equally. And to Naomi he instructed her to not use so much force behind every single technique in case of it failing. Then Master Fao told them to sit down and called up the next group which was Aram, Zuko, Azula and I.

We bowed to Master Fao and then to our partners. Still to this day I'm not quite sure how in the hell Azula managed to do that without making some smart-ass comment of some sort. But I was sure that there was plenty of eye-rolling involved. Plenty. Then we positioned into fighting stances; my right foot in front and my left in back. My arms were up in fists at the ready. From where I was standing I could see the boys, ready as well, grinning at one another. They were obviously friends.

"Remember," Fao warned us. "No bending is allowed at this time." Azula pouted discreetly and roller her eyes. I didn't mind the rules however. I did have five years of martial arts training. "Ready," Master Fao began, stroking his long gray beard. Azula glared at me for the eleventh time that day.

"You're going to be my punching bag, go it?" she barked. I didn't know what to say, so again, I said nothing. _Someone's gotta put this female dog in her place! _I hissed in my head.

"Begin!"

Azula flew at me with a round-house kick. My sense reacted wonderfully. I pivoted on my heels to the right and blocked the kick-my arm extended in a V shape. I grabbed her extended leg and raised it up, creating a lever effect. But before she could completely lose her balance, Azula swung her leg back around and executed a ridge-hand with her right. I open-hand blocked it with my left and ducked to avoid a punch coming at my from her other hand. When I came up, I brought my leg up to front-snap kick her in her stomach, but she dropped to the ground. By the time I realized what she was doing, it was too late. My right leg was already in motion when Azula swept my left foot off the ground with her right leg. I was airborne for a brief moment. Smack! I landed on my ass in the grass. And it rhymed too.

"Damn I." I cursed under my breath, and jumped back up on my feet.

The girl circled like a hawk; I was beginning to feel very dizzy very quickly. We were pretty close to the pond now. I could see the turtle-ducks swimming freely. They were so cute. Focus! Another round-house was sent my way. I had seen it coming though because Azula had kicked off her back leg-something my father taught me never to do. I moved out of the way, letting the kick snap out into the air, missing me by a good foot or so. I noticed that whenever she kicked, her hands moved apart, letting her guard down. I took that opportunity quickly and jabbed her in the shoulder. I received a death-glare from her. She was obviously in disbelief that I managed to strike her. Azula gathered her barrings and hurled a punch at me; a reverse-punch, but I didn't realize that was what it was until it, again, was too late.

I cross-hand blocked over my head, which was a stupid move. Blocking with both hands was extremely risky. It made the defender more vulnerable in combat. Azula had a free arm, I, at the moment, did not. She punched me in the kidney just as I was trying to twist out of the way. Azula stuck her foot out and forced me backwards. I lost my balance and toppled over again. _Damn it!_ My mind yelled. I had fallen onto my back that time. Without using my hands, I flipped back up into a fighting stance. I felt lucky too have such good reflexes. We began to circle again.

Near the edges of the courtyard, I could see Ozai thoroughly content. It wasn't easy to see why; he was proud of his daughter and secretly thrilled that she was kicking my ass. I could also see my own father standing near him. He was watching intently. When our eyes met, he mouthed a message to me. I was never a very good lip-reader, but somehow I could always figure out what my father meant. The words that he formed were 'Be quick.' Even from further away he could identify the uncertainty behind my stormy gray eyes. He nodded to me, and then I knew what I had to do.

"Ready to get knocked on your ass again?" Azula taunted with glee. "Third time's a charm." I exhaled deeply and growled. I was going to put this girl in her place.

"Alright sugar queen, let's go!" I retorted, just loud enough for her to hear. Azula's response was a right handed knuckle punch, aimed at my throat. _We're going to get along just splendidly! _I sarcastically groaned inside my head.

I twisted to the left. Her speed was good; I should have been hit by the technique, but for whatever reason, I hadn't been. I grabbed her wrist of her extended arm and pulled her past me. As she went forward, I reverse-punched her in the ribs. Azula attempted to spin around, but I was too fast for her to react. When she turned around to face me, my back was up against her; I elbowed her in the kidney and then in the side of her head. The girl gasped in shock as she tried to block and parry my attacks. She tried to catch me with a spear-hand, which grazed my ear. When my head snapped back up, my focus was entirely on the ridge-hand speeding towards me. I pushed off from the ground with my left foot, letting my right come up in a swinging motion to collide wither her hand. I sent her arm back to her side with my crescent-kick.

Azula was focused on her raw wrist now-to the point where we had stopped circling. I had a clear shot of her then. I tightened my fists and stepped behind my right leg with my left. I raised my right leg up, and like a knife, it cut through the air. I would never forget Azula's face in those short moments. Her golden eyes were as large as dinner plates, and her expression morphed into a look of sheer terror-open mouth and everything. My foot drove into her stomach; I did a kiai, or a yell, for affect. All that came out of her mouth was an 'oof' sound, as her top half leaned forward. The force of my side-kick sent her flying backwards. Splash! Azula landed right in the midst of the turtle-ducks.

I couldn't believe it. I had actually bested Azula in a fight. She was the best fighter among us all, or so I had heard at least. The boys had even stopped their fight to watch ours. Everyone's attention was on me at the moment. Zuko's face was full of wonder. I mean, I did just kick his sister into the pond. Truth was, I really didn't mean to. I had gotten carried away. Even Master Fao was pondering. He gave me a peculiar stare.

Azula emerged from the water, completely soaked. She angrily flung a lily-pad off of her shoulder and stepped onto the grass. From that day on I believed in the power of telekinesis because when she looked at me, I swore I heard her voice echo in my head, 'I swear to Agni you are dead, peasant.' If looks could kill, I would have died a wonderfully morbid death. Azula gave me one last scowl, then stormed off, leaving the courtyard. Ozai appeared bewildered. He was most likely not expecting anything of the sort from a little girl like me. But the more I looked at him, the more he seemed intrigued. I glanced at my father who, to my surprise, winked at me.

On our stroll back home, I felt proud of myself. I had doubted that I was going to perform very well in the sparring match that day. I was in really good spirits.

"Though I should not be praising you for kicking other children into ponds," my father began, trying to sound as stern as possible. " I must admit: That was pretty damn awesome what you did back there, kiddo." He beamed down at me."I'm proud of you." I felt the biggest grin of the century creep up my face once I heard his words. He opened his arms for a hug, and I tackled him.


	3. The Loser that I am Makes a Friend

He sorry guys, this ones kinda short, but I didn't want to just leave you all waiting while I went on vacation. I promise I'll keep writing so there'll be AT LEAST two more chapters when I get back :) oh yeah, and I was listening to Metallica when I wrote this part, ironic huh? thanks for reading! ~th3rdhal3~

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While my father was busy making dinner, I decided to occupy my time by going for a walk by myself. Though I was still recovering from the rush and excitement from earlier that day, I knew I needed to calm down. As proud as I wanted to be of myself, in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but feel even more alone. I desperately wanted a friend, but I had screwed up that chance by knocking Azula into the pond; after that, I doubted she would ever warm up to me. And the other kids, would they be intimidated by me because of that? Questions and questions clouded my brain. So much was going through the mind of a little eight year-old.

My bare feet caressed the grass I walked upon. I never really liked shoes. I guess it was just a comfort thing. The only reasons I wore them were because 1.) my father didn't approve of me treading the Earth without protective footwear and 2.) it wouldn't be formal if I showed up everywhere bare-foot.

I smiled as I approached the spot I that I had set out for in the first place. It was a Coy pond just outside the palace. Stones of all kinds lay around the edges of the water. The grass was a lush green and shade was abundant. I knelt down above the water and dropped a small handful of bread crumbs that I was keeping in my hand. I waited patiently for the fish to suck up the tiny pieces of bread. Three fish came up near the surface, nibbling the bits of food I had given them. One was all white and shiny-almost silver-ish. The other two were shades of orange. My eyes scanned the pond for my favorite Coy Fish; he was orange as well, but he had black spots on him which distinguished him from the others. Though I looked thoroughly into the water, I did not see him. I frowned slightly; that's when I heard the soft padding of feet approaching.

"Hi there" I turned my head to see Zuko. He was smiling politely, and I was relieved that it was him and not anyone else. I smiled a tad as well and acknowledged him.

"Hi." Zuko picked up a small flat rock from over by the large stones and with a flick of his wrist, he sent it into the water; it skipped twice and then sunk. "Careful! You'll scare Mr. Fishy!" I blurted out. Zuko gave me a puzzling glance as he sat down on a Granite stone.

"Mr. Fishy?" he giggled. "You named them?" At first I didn't know whether or not to change the subject or answer him honestly. It seemed embarrassing, for a moment, that I had given names to all the fish in the pond. But Zuko didn't appear to be poking fun at me. He actually seemed to be interested in what the names were.

"Yes." I truthfully replied. I pointed to the white fish. "That's Misty. Over there is Goldie." Then I pointed at the two orange fish. "These are Yin and Yang. This one looks old and wise so I named it Roku," Zuko chuckled at the reference to the previous Avatar. "And there," I spotted my favorite fish, slinking out from behind a rock. He was the largest fish out of them all. "is Mr. Fishy!" I squealed with delight. Zuko grinned and rubbed his chin for a moment, almost as if he had a beard or some sort. He eyes Mr. Fishy with golden eyes remarkably similar to Azula's. There was no mistake that they were related.

"Mr. Fishy, eh? I was thinking something more like, Bubble the Death-Dealer." he joked. I couldn't help but collapse into a fit of laughter. Zuko joined in with me, realizing that his comment was, indeed very comical.

"Azula's just like that, you know?" He changed the subject minutes later. My ears perked up. "It's not you or anything, trust me. My sister has almost always had that over-competitive nature." he explained. "I guess that's what makes her who she is. She acts all tough and intimidating towards everyone, even her friends and me, so don't take it too personally." I nodded, listening to every word he had to say. "Don't get me wrong, she's a total brat most of the time, but she's my sis and I've learned to live with her." I definitely agreed with him on the brat part, but I felt a lot better knowing that Azula acted as if she despised everyone, and not just me alone. Zuko glanced around the Coy Pond and behind us as well. He cracked a wide smile and lowered his voice. "Don' t tell her I said this, but I thought it was awesome how you wiped the smirk off her face and kicked her into the pond earlier." I felt a grin return to my face as well.

"Well you might think it's funny, but your sister sure as heck didn't." It was quite true after all. But if she did, she had a truly weird way of showing it. "The look in her eyes afterward made it very clear that she's going to kill me in my sleep tonight. Oh dear, I might have to pull and all-nighter." To my surprise, when I turned to look at Zuko again, he was rolling on the ground with laughter. I had no idea how funny my previous comment was. But the more I watched Zuko, the more I felt a chuckle in the back of my throat-which turned into a hearty, full-blown laugh.. Though it had sounded funny coming out of my mouth, I couldn't help but also wonder if Azula was actually planning my demise.

We kept going for at least four minutes. If a random spectator walked by, they would have assumed that Zuko and I were old friends, laughing at yet another funny that one of us had made. I realized then, but not quite as much as I would in the future, how different he was from Azula. There was actual joy behind his golden eyes, unlike the coldness I felt when looking into Azula's.

The sun was slowly beginning to drop in the horizon. My stomach growled and I instantly thought of my father and dinner. "Well, I'd better get back home. Dad's making something 'special' tonight." Zuko nodded.

"I'd better get going too." he said, probably thinking about his family's own dinner plans. "But first, do you want to go feed the turtle-ducks?" A big smile was attached to his face. My eyes lit up as I beamed back at him. _My first true friend, YES! _I exploded on the inside; it was a happy explosion however. "I'll show you how Azula feeds them!" Zuko snickered as we raced off to the courtyard together.


	4. Why Can't We Be Friends?

Okay sorry I lied, I'll try to be more ontop of updating before school comes around, so only one new chapter tonight! ~th3rdhal3~

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The sun was only half visible by the time I scurried through our front door. The strong scent of Peanut Sauce wafted under my nose. My father came out of the kitchen, arms folded and a stern expression upon his face. "And just where were you?" He did have a reason to be a little agitated because I arrived about a half an hour later than I should have. But when I told him where I was, he changed his attitude.

"Dad! You won't believe it; I was invited to hang out with one of the other kids!" Instead of 'strict dad' he was all smiles now.

"That's wonderful, sweetheart." My father congratulated me. "Tell me all about it." He encouraged, leading me to the dining room. Beef Teriyakai awaited my empty tummy. I was practically drooling at the sight of it. Another fun fact about me: I loved meat! Didn't care what type it was-long as it was edible. I'd even eat raw meat...though my father strongly discouraged me from that habit. I sat down and immediately helped myself to a large portion. For a little girl, I had a big appetite.

"Well," I began to tell my father, mouth almost completely full." I was sitting by the Coy Pond outside the Eastern Wall, when he invited me to go feed the turtle ducks-" My father stopped me in mid-sentence, partly to re-state something but also to make sure I didn't die choking on the food that I loved so much.

"He? A boy? Do I need to step in and meet this kid; keep the punk in line?" I giggled. I never thought my father would be chasing and keeping me away from boys until I was a little older.

"Da-a-ad," I drew out his name, my mouth still stuffed with deliciousness. "It was just Zuko." I explained. My father took a bite with his fork, a little more civilized than I was at the time. Okay, a _lot _more civilized."Oh." He nodded in response. "That's okay then. Zuko's a good kid. Any other boy and I'd have to fire-bend the pants off of him." Note for future reference: Laughing while face is stuffed, is not a bright idea. Like I said before, I always understood my father's humor; even if a lot of it were all empty threats.

I took over the whole conversation the rest of dinner, which was kind of a personal first for me. I shared all of the jokes that Zuko and I had made, making my father chuckle. But what he really got a kick out of was when I described how Zuko showed me how his sister fed the turtle-ducks; throwing a huge rock at the poor animals. But fortunately Zuko had a heart and missed them on purpose. I was wired by the time it was my bed time."I'm glad you had an _eventful _day." He enunciated the word more so than the others. "But you need your sleep, Sankari. Rest up for tomorrow." He tucked me in, kissed me on the forehead and turned out the light. Once it was dark, I began to realize how tired I actually was.

The next few days I was all fired up to go. Training seemed to go by considerably faster than the first day. Though we didn't spar those days, we improved our forms and did drills for certain techniques, such as back-fist and a round-house kick. Azula wouldn't even look at me. She seemed more uptight than her usual self. And as crazy as it sounds, I felt a little bad for what I had done the other day. I kind of humiliated her by mistake. Of course, no one pointed or laughed, at least not on the outside; but it probably still made her feel spiteful.

After practice was done one day, Zuko came up to me. "Do you wanna play Fireball?" he asked. Though I tired to stay cool on the outside, I was jumping up and down on the inside.

"I'm game." I slyly replied. He and I made our way over to the Fireball courts moments later; since the ball used in the game was set on fire, it wasn't the brightest idea to play on the grass. The courts were made of clay and stone-non flammable materials. The goals were roughly 35 feet apart; two metal posts were wedged into the ground with a net attached in the back. The goals were five feet wide and four feet tall. I had never played before, So I was soaking in information about the playing field.

All together, there were four of us gathered at one of the courts. Zuko made the teams. "Okay, you and me will be a team," he decided, looking at me. "then Aram, you and Naomi can verse us." The other two agreed with the pairing. "The rules are pretty simple." Zuko explained to me. "You can touch the ball with anything except your hands." The game did seem fairly simple. Zuko rolled the ball over to Aram's feet. "We'll let you guys start off." he decided. Aram stopped the ball and lit it on fire was a circular motion of his hand. He dribbled the ball between his feet, then he began to trailed after him down the court. I ran ahead of both boys; since we were only playing two-on-two we didn't have a designated goalie, so I wanted to be sure that I was there to defend if needed. Naomi called out to her teammate. "Aram, I'm open!" That was very true; no one was guarding her at the moment.

"Sankari, get on Naomi, I'm guarding Aram!" Zuko pointed to the brown haired girl who was, indeed, wide open. Aram lifted the flaming ball up with the top of his foot and kicked it high over Zuko's head. Naomi and I both charged for it. She reached the ball before me and continued down the field towards the goal. I picked up my speed and jumped in front of her, just as she was about to kick the ball into the net. The ball smacked me in the face, it was already extinguished by that point thankfully, and ricocheted into the air. Aram leap forward and head-butt the ball straight into the goal. It was a good shot.

"One-nothin'!" The boy cheered, raising both arms into the air. I was too busy rubbing my red face to comment. Naomi clenched her teeth and frowned, making a sucking sound.

"Sorry." she apologized. I kind of deserved it though. I should have seen that one coming. I picked up the ball and waved my hand around it, lighting it on fire once more.

"I'll take it." I offered, tossing it up in the air and kicking it, resuming the game.

Round two was much more invigorating. We did a lot more running back and forth. One minute Zuko or I had the ball, the next it was either in Aram's or Naomi's possession. I was distraction suddenly, by voices a little ways away. Outside of the courts were a trio frolicking in the grass. I recognized two of them right away; the happy-go-lucky one and the girl with the black hair who seemed almost emotionless. Then I realized that Azula was among them. I watched them from afar for a short moment. Then, the dark haired girl with two topknots caught my eye.

"Hey Azula, isn't that the girl who knocked you into the pond?" I pretended to be looking elsewhere. Then Azula saw me. She scowled and refused to answer her friend. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." The black haired girl answered her own question, brushing something off of her white blouse. The really smiley girl with the long braid giggled. "Ohh, we should ask her to play with us!" she suggested, mid-cartwheel. Azula pushed her over onto the grass, wrecking the girl's form.

"No, dummy!" she scolded. "Let's go." She began to stomp off. The emotionless girl turned to her happy friend and shrugged.

"Not today, Ty." The girl dubbed as 'Ty' smiled happily and together they set off after Azula.

"Hello! Earth to space cadet!" Aram teased. I refocused, realizing we were playing and that I still had the ball. " What? Moose-lion got your tongue?" I cracked a smile and began to pay attention to our game again.

"Sankari! Over here!" Zuko hollered.

Surprisingly enough, Zuko and I had won the game 3-2; I even made two of those goals. Of course there was lots of running, chasing, and a few falls and scrapes. All in all, it was a pretty successful day. I would've stayed and played longer, but my father was leaving in two days, and I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible before he had to go.

On the walk home , I could have sworn there was someone following me. As I walked , I could hear someone else's footsteps, but once I turned around, I didn't hear nor see anyone. I was beginning to think that I was going crazy. A breeze blew past me, shifting pebbles and stirring up dirt on the ground. Maybe the noises I thought I'd been hearing were all natural ones. The snapping of a twig forced me to turn around right as I was reaching for our door. Again, nothing greeted my Eagle eyes. I heard more rustling. My eyes traveled over to our over-sized Banzai Bush. _Ah ha! _I slinked over to the bush and readied myself; I tore my hands into the center and pulled parts of the bush to the side with a movement so quick.

"Hi!" a little girl's face popped into view, scaring the living daylights out of me, also causing me to fall backwards onto the ground. The moment I stood back up, the girl jumped into my arms and began to talk my ear off. "Hi, I'm Ty Lee! What's your name? What's your favorite color? I like pink! I also like turtle-ducks! Ooh, there's a pretty butterfly! Do you like cartwheels? I love cartwheels! Have-"

"Stop! Please!" I yelled, trying to get a word in edgewise. My brain was currently fried from all of the questions and her loud jabber."My name is Sankari," I began, a lot slower than she had spoken. "I like the color purple and turtle-ducks too. And I can't cartwheel very well." Then our front door opened and my father stepped out.

"Who are you talking to, Sankari? I could hear you shouting from all the way inside." He looked at Ty Lee who had made herself at home in my arms. "New friend?" he asked.

"Dad," I explained. "I was walking home and this crazy little girl followed me," I gave her a subtle glare. "and now she won't leave me alone-" As I glanced down at her again, something changed; her eyes were wider now and they seemed to sparkle. Her lower lip quivered turning into the infamous puppy-dog pout. My hear melted and instantly I changed me tune. "Aww," I cooed. "She's sooo cuuute! Daddy, can we keep her?" I pleaded, swinging a happy Ty Lee around in the air. She beamed, obviously enjoying the attention. My father chuckled at the display.

We invited Ty Lee to have dinner with us. She packed away more than I did, which was a surprise to both me and my father. Little girls really did have big appetites."So, how old are you?" My father asked Ty Lee. She swallowed a big bite then proudly responded.

"Eight and a half!" There was no way. With her round baby-face and innocent expressions I would've though she was at least two years younger. Plus, she was kind of short; I mean I was eight too but I was a good three or four inches taller than her. Maybe I was tall for my age. But by the end of the night, there was only one thing I didn't understand; Ty Lee was so cheery and happy all the time, why did she hang out with aggressive Azula and the depressed looking girl? It didn't make sense to me. But I didn't ask the girl because she was in the middle of another monologue and also because I didn't want to pry.

"Should we accompany you home?" My father suggested as the three of us headed for the door. It was kind of late, not to mention dark after all. Ty Lee shook her head and bowed respectfully at us.

"Thank you for dinner Mr. General Sir, but it's not too far. I know the way back." Mr. General Sir? That was a new one. I did my best to hold back laughter. Ty Lee caught me by surprise and captured me into a tight hug. "Bye Kari! See you later!" And with that, she bounded out of the door and disappeared. Once Ty Lee was gone, my father looked down at me with great interest.

"Kari?" he seemed to ask when the nickname started. My guess was as good as his. "Mr. General Sir?" I raised and eyebrow up at him. He shook his head, laughing, and closed the front door so that no more bugs would enter.

"What and interesting friend." he commented as he began picking up dirty plates from the table. I started to help, somewhat."Let's just call her an acquaintance." I suggested.


	5. My Future Best Friend Tries to Kill Me

The Sun showed no mercy the following day. I mean, I knew fire-benders few their power from it, but that day was pure torture. For a mid April day it was a scorcher. It probably didn't help that I was wearing all black. I felt as if I was roasting when mid-day rolled around the corner. We spent the whole first half of the day adding fire techniques to our catas. I think that the flames we produced on top of the sweltering heat added to the illusion of being cooked alive. Then, the words I was dreading but yet also longing for, were announced by Master Fao.

"Take a three minute break. When we resume, you all will be line-sparring." Everyone dispersed. There were a few more children that day than before; so there would be five pairs going at once this time. The others were either cooling down or getting ready. Sameer came over to me and handed me black wraps similar to the ones that were around his hands and wrists. I applied them like so. "You'd be surprised how much the padding comes in handy sometimes. " he informed me. "They'll be useful; especially if you have to go against _her _again." We turned our attention over to where Azula stood. I could see something metallic and shiny wrapped around her hand. I blinked for a moment, thinking my eye sight was slightly off; though it was at its best it would ever be at. My eyes had been right, there was something glinting on her knuckles.

"Are those metal plates?" I gasped out loud. Azula, realizing that she'd been seen, rolled her eyes and slipped the cheap trick-weapon off of her fingers. Did she actually intend to use them in our matches? This girl was evil. Then, she made her way over to us. I almost wished I had kept my mouth shut.

"Excuse me." she said rudely to Sameer, making it clear that it wasn't he whom she wanted to have a word with. He backed off willingly, throwing my a sympathy look in the process. Azula's eyes burned into mine. "Okay, let me make this clear," _Here we go._ I mentally readied myself. "I don't mind friendly competition, rivalry in fact, if you will. But if you want to play rough, you're only going to make things difficult for yourself." Then, she lifted up the torso part of her uniform. I didn't understand why at first, until I saw her skin; a sunset of orange, blue and purple lay in the middle of her stomach. The exact spot where I had made impact with my foot. "You did this to me the other day." I was shocked as I remembered how Azula got back up after my kick an walked it off; the girl must have had a high pain tolerance. "So mark my words, we _will _be even." For reasons I 'm still not sure of, I was highly intimidated by her last remark. She was gone before I could even attempt to think up a worthy comeback. I stood there with a dry lump in my throat as I waited patiently for Master Fao to call us all back to attention.

In line-sparring you would rotate through a number of people, only going at it for about two minutes with each person; this new way of sparring was supposed to help us in the future because every opponent has a certain way of fighting. I started off with Zuko as my partner. We did a lot more talking than necessary in a match. Though we still threw techniques at one another and circled, we weren't really trying to hit each other. This was some of our conversation:

"So how's your day?" he asked, throwing a much too slow back-fist. I blocked and then round-house kicked. "Eh, could be better."

"Mine could be wonderful but then that would mean my sister would have to fall off the face of the Earth." I laughed as we continued to circle. "She kind of threatened me a little while ago..." I told him.

"Though I should and will apologize for that, I am not in the least bit surprised at all." Zuko responded, trying to make light of the situation.

"And why is that?" I wondered

"It's Azula we're talking about."

"Oh right." Pretty soon, Master Fao was on us like a bird of prey. He noticed we were chatting a little more than needed and put a stop to it.

"A little less chatter and a little more technique." he reprimanded us. "Zuko! Do not kick off of your back leg!" he instructed.

After the two minutes were up, I sparred a girl named Deepthi. Unlike the previous match, we didn't talk. We focused strictly on sparring. Deepthi seemed confident and skillful. I didn't feel too challenged though because she wasn't nearly as quick nor powerful as Azula. But, the girl had good form, I had to give her that.

My next opponent was Sameer. He looked pretty worn out from his last match. He smiled weakly and said, "I just got my ass handed to me by Azula. Please take it easy on me." Poor guy. I decided to give him a break and stayed on the defense. Though it was clear to see that he was tired and sore, Sameer was still his 'bouncy' self as we circled.

"Word of advice," I began, a few moments before our round ended. "Don't let your arms down when you kick." I noticed that a lot of people let their guard down whenever throwing a kick. Sameer nodded graciously. "Thanks." he grinned.

_No. _My mind cursed as we rotated again. _This must be a mistake, I thought Sameer just sparred her. _But sure enough, I was standing face to face with the girl with golden eyes. She must have broken the cycle in which we were rotating...all to face me. "Miss me?" Azula smirked in a mocking tone. I breathed in deeply. Already, she was getting on my nerves. I didn't have a retort of any kind so instead I glared at her and spat on the ground, making sure my look was of pure disgust. Azula's grin widened. "That's not very nice." She was so fake; patronizing to the point of sickness.

When our round started we both went at it. We both kicked at the same time, so that technique really didn't succeed in doing anything. I kept my fists close at all times, never wanting to let my guard down. Neither of us technically had the upper hand in that match. Everything we did, the other blocked or countered it with something. But there was one thing that was different. One thing that scared me. Her eyes were like those of a predator. Hunting, waiting, ready for the kill. There was no fear, nor surprise in them like the last time. She was much faster this match. Many times I jumped to either side or ducked and didn't even bother with blocking. This was a good thing for her but a bad thing for me.

I had never had much confidence. Though I was a skilled fighter, I didn't pride myself very much for it. In those few moments, Azula was at her peak of self confidence and determination. I could feel the blood in my veins pulsing. I was starting to become afraid, anxious even. Things started to go downhill for me. The more worried and cautious I became, the more I felt my muscles tense and cramp up. It was only a matter of time before my disorder would kick in. I tired to press on, but it wasn't going to do me any good. I wasn't as fast as I had been the other day; I was the underdog then. Azula now had the upper hand.

She brought her knee up in a swift motion. I watched in horror as my arms seemed to have a mind of their own. I lower cross-hand blocked; why in the hell would I do that? Besides, that block was only really meant to be used against punches. Then I lifted my gaze up. It was like a nasty accident; one where all you can do is stand there idly and watch it happen. One where you can't tear your eyes from it. Azula's hand was making a bee-line for my head in Sudo form. The only thing I could do for myself was turning my head to the left only two mere inches. I could see her fingernails, long and sharp, seconds before they pierced my flesh. That's when I realized what they really were: talons.

Her nails dug into the corner of my eye, continuing on until they almost reached my right ear. My head exploded from the pain. _Mother fucker!_ I wish I could have screamed it out loud for all to hear. Then I saw red. I could feel the blood trickling down from my eyelid. I could taste the salty iron as the rivers ran down the side of my face to the corner of my lips. The grass in front of me was stained Crimson from the sticky liquid leaking out of my body. White hot pain on the my whole upper right side of my face. The more I blinked, the more my vision in my right eye appeared morbid and gruesome. I sucked in quick puffs of air as I forced myself not to shed a single tear. I'd be strong. That was my breaking point. I couldn't stand her. I _hated _her.

Without fully being able to see, I threw a straight up punch with deadly accuracy. A satisfying cracking sound filled my void of vengeance as I hit my target. I pulled away slowly. With my good eye, I saw Azula's hand reach up for her face as she staggered back. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. Once again, everyone who was sparring stopped to see what had happened. What was I? Their entertainer? They all paused to look at me and this time it was my turn to storm off.


	6. My Life Keeps Getting Better

"Ow, ow, ow!" I moaned in anguish. Hours after the fact, my right eye still ached from the injury. Plastered to the right side of my face was a decent sized pouch of ice. I knew that the chill was supposed to bring the swelling down but the coldness of the ice on top of the rawness from the cut created a stinging sensation. My eye burned and I knew that it was going to take a while to heal.

"That's my girl." My father stroked my hair. "You are such a trooper." I was leaning into him on our couch. I sure didn't _feel_ like one. Azula's nails had done what felt like a number to my head. "Let's take another look at it." He suggested. I lifted the bag of ice off of my eye. I tried to keep my eye open though opening it too wide stung. "Well it doesn't look as puffy as it was earlier." My father observed optimistically/ "But it's not going to go away over night." That, I knew right off the bat. I had taken a good look for myself in the bathroom mirror once we had come home. I had stopped bleeding by the time we came back to our house; the wound just looked very fleshy and raw after I wiped all of the blood away. And of course, I griped about it for a good period of time. I recalled gripping my cheeks and groaning:"My face! My beautiful face! Daddy, look what she did to my face!" I had pathetically whimpered. I had acted like she had blown my face off with a bomb or something.

"I really hate that woman." I scrunched my nose up and narrowed my eyebrows. My father chuckled at the fact that I had just referred to Azula as a woman. She was the same age as me-and that was still plenty of years away from official womanhood. He pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm really sorry this happened, sweetheart." He sympathized. "I'm also sorry that I have to leave you to heal all by yourself. But hey, at least we're parting on a good note-you and I." I snuggled closer to him. _Yeah, Dad._ I thought. _You're right. Always right..._ I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning was hard. It was the day my father was leaving to go on his mission. Even though I knew that this day would come, when it arrived I wanted it to disappear. My father was the only family that I had, and now he was going away. I knew it wouldn't be forever but there had never been an exact estimate in time. He could be gone a few weeks, months, or even years. But my father had been prepared for this. He was a General, after all; part of the Fire Nation's military. He was ready for anything. While he would be away, our friend, Li Ann, would be staying with me at our house. She was a woman in her mid-thirties, like my father, and one of his closest friends. Li Ann had been like an older sister to me over the years, and I felt much better knowing that I would be in her care until my father returned.

It was early that morning when I woke up. I wanted to make sure that my father was still there so that I could see him off. I thundered down the stairs and into the kitchen. My father was scooping cooked eggs out of a hot pan onto a plate; that was his normal source of protein in the mornings. He turned to see what all the noise was; me. I ran towards him and wrapped mt arms around his mid-section; my little eight year-old version of a bear-hug. "Daddy! You're still here." I sighed into his uniform. He put down his cooking utensils and returned my affection.

"Of course I'm still here." He smiled. "I would never leave without saying goodbye to my favorite daughter." I grinned a little."Dad, I'm your only daughter." I corrected him, giggling. He brushed my hair out of my eyes with large, gentle hands. "Exactly." He kissed my forehead. My hear sunk slightly as I realized how much I was going to miss my father.

"Dad?" I asked as we ate our breakfast; his eggs and my ham sandwich. Yes, I even ate meat for breakfast. What can I say? I was a carnivore.

"Mhm." He answered, chewing.

"Can I go to the docks with you?"

A little less than half an hour later, I was helping my father carry the last of his luggage to his ship. He didn't bring his whole wardrobe; just enough, as he thought, to get him through his assignment. There were a variety of ships-from very small to humongous. My father's ship was somewhere in between. Once we reached it, the crew took his belongings and began loading the water vessel. A soldier came up to my father and shook his hand. "It's a pleasure sailing with you, General." he politely commented. My father nodded in response. "The ship is ready to go at your command, sir." The soldier continued.

"I will be boarding momentarily." My father replied. The soldier bowed respectfully and headed for the ship. My father turned to look at me as I looked up at him. "Sankari, I'm so, so proud of you." He began. "You're a fighter just like our old man, and you _never _give up. I'm glad to call you my daughter." I could swear his eyes were watering. He acted like he was going to the ends of the Earth or something. I spared us the sappy moment and jumped up into his arms. "I'm going to miss you, kiddo." He held me close.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Dad." I mumbled into his shoulder. The embrace felt like it lasted a lifetime but yet it was over much too soon. He eventually set me down and took another good look at me. He shook his head in astonishment.

"You're growing up so fast." He breathed. "You won't be my little girl forever. Which is why I want you to promise me this; as you continue to learn and progress in the ways of a warrior, don't forget about your other emotions. Compassion, friendship and one of the most important, love. I wish I had done so." his smile was wry. I felt my own eyes tear up. "I won't be gone too long. I promise." We hugged one more time before we were rudely interrupted by the ship's horn.

"General Tsong! We are ready for departure." A loud voice rang out. It was time for him to go. My father bent down and kissed me on the forehead one last time. "I love you, Sankari." Tears of joy and sorrow flowed down my cheeks. "I love you too, Dad." I tried my best to smile. I watched him leave the dock and board his ship. It was hero time for him. Time for him to focus on being a military figure instead of a father. I watched the boat pull out into the sea and slowly disappear into the horizon. Only then did I truly feel alone. _Goodbye Dad. _

The long walk home was the loneliest I'd ever felt in my whole life. Though eight years isn't really a lot in the grand scheme of things, it was a big deal for me. Li Ann would be arriving at the house a little later in the day and the thought of her instantly made me feel better. I pushed myself to think optimistically. I had to keep living my life and everything would be fine. Yeah...too bad optimism is a dirty, rotten liar.

Two months had passed, and my father was still out on his mission. I enjoyed having Li Ann with my twenty-four/seven. She was so much fun, like a big kid trapped inside of an adult. I kind of wished that my father had married her so that she could be my mother and we'd have a complete family. But they were old friends and nothing more. Li Ann even stayed in the courtyard of the palace to watch my training sessions. I had progressed even more in those few months. I practiced anywhere from one to two hours each night. I wanted to blow my father away once he returned. I wanted him to be amazed at how skilled I had become when he was away. I was unaware, however, that my life was about to take a turn in a new direction; for better and for worse.

It was about three weeks after my ninth birthday. I sat in bed one night, re-reading a letter my father had sent me days ago. It read:

_I hope this letter made it on time._

_Happy Birthday, Sankari! I regret_

_not being there on my girl's special day,_

_but I promise you that I'll make it up to you once_

_I return. Be good for Li Ann, though I know that_

_you will be. Though I do enjoy sailing, it's_

_not quite the same without you._

_Hope to see you soon._

_Love, Dad_

_P.s. show little miss 'princess'_

_what you're made of _

I giggled once again at the last part of his letter. But there was some irony in what he wrote. I wondered if he realized it as well. Also around the time of my birthday, Firelord Azulon had passed away and Ozai succeeded him, claiming the throne. That meant that Azula _was,_ indeed, princess. She and I were still rivals and I smiled happily, as I imagined kicking her ass a second time.

I heard voices out the window that made me put the parchment down. All of a sudden the voices were hushed which just aroused my curiosity all the more. I quietly slipped out from underneath my cozy blankets and stuck my head out of the window. Outside where a few men gathered only yards away. Though their voices weren't as loud as before, I could still pick put one of them; it belonged to General Iroh, Zuko and Azula's uncle. Zuko had introduced me to him once before. My curiosity stirred longingly inside of me. I wanted to listen in to their conversation so badly for some reason.

I hoisted myself onto the window sill. Li Ann wouldn't know I had gone outside. She was most likely asleep anyway. I grabbed onto a branch of the tree outside of my bedroom window. I swung my legs out and around the tree and shimmied down. I crouched as I landed on the ground, absorbing the jump with bent knees. That was a stealth move I had picked up from Roje. She and I had really hit it off the last two months. At the moment, I was glad we had shared moves and techniques together.

I stayed low to the ground and stalked slowly through the grass. The only light came from the dimly lit lamps lining the edges of the streets. I slinked through the shadows and darkness to avoid being seen. If they caught me out this late, I'd probably be interrogated and then sent back home, which would not make Li Ann very happy. My hands wrapped around the rough bark of a conveniently located Oak Tree that I had come across. I quickly scrambled up to a good height. The abundance of leaves concealed me, but I poked my head out just enough so that I could hear the mens' conversation.

"...And so I said to them, 'You call this tea? When bison fly." The other two chuckled at General Iroh's story. He apparently really liked tea. Out of the three of them, only one of the men had a clean shave. I decided to name him 'No Beard.' Then, No Beard asked a question. "So what did it taste like, General?" Iroh paused for a moment, deciding how to describe the terrible liquid that he had consumed.

"Like...hot sea water." The other two men laughed and made faces. I had to admit that did sound pretty gross. Then the man with the fuzzy mustache whom I had dubbed 'Stache,' spoke. "Speaking of the sea, any news on the ships that were sent to patrol the Western borders of the Earth Kingdoms?" General Iroh bowed his head and grew very quite for a moment. I wondered why he did so.

"Actually, yes." he replied solemnly. "I received this news early in the morning; you both know that General Tsong was in charge of that assignment, am I right?" The two nodded. "Well, there was an accident." The words came out of Iroh's mouth as thick as molasses. My ears perked up once I heard my father's name mentioned. _Oh no..._ The other two mens' faces grew grave as well. General Iroh continued. " No one knows the reason of the accident was, but what they know is this: Another Fire Nation ship came across Tsong's on its course. His ship was badly damaged and from what they could tell, there were...no survivors..."

I could literally feel my heart rip in two then disintegrate. The words were still echoing in my head moments later. _No survivors..._ I slid down the back of the tree, almost falling entirely as I did so. I wanted to run, I wanted to scream. I had to get away from there. I ran.

I snatched up my father's letter once I crawled back into my room through the window. I re-read it over and over again-hoping to make the words come to life, maybe just to try and hear his voice as I read his note. It wasn't enough. "No..." My voice shook with both horror and anger. I through the letter to the side. "No..." I could barely control my emotions. "No!" I screamed, driving my fist into the wall above my bedpost. I didn't even feel the sting on my knuckles as I punched again and again, the white plaster covering my fingers. I collapsed onto my bed, my face a watery mess. _You were right, Dad. I'm not going to be your little girl forever. _I cried myself to sleep that night.

_You were always fucking right._


	7. Things Change

Another chapter is up xD yay me I can do deadlines! (school is starting soon so please be patient because I might not update as quickly D:) also, kudos to anyone who can identify the song referrences made in this chapter :) ~th3rdhal3~

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"Good morning sleepyhead." Li Ann sat on the edge of my bed. I could always tell whenever she came into my room because her long, dark hair smelled of Jasmine. I rubbed my puffy eyes, almost forgetting that I had been crying only hours ago.

"Wha?" I yawned, still sounding a little weepy. She noticed that right away. That was the good thing about having a woman around the house. No offense to my father but Li Ann was a lot less oblivious than he was when it came to reading me.

"What's wrong sweetie?" she asked, green eyes full of concern. _She probably doesn't know yet._ I reminded myself. And she didn't. I acted naturally, trying not to draw attention to the fact that I was secretly distraught. "I'm fine, just still tired." I lied, smiling weakly. Somehow my fib worked and

Li Ann suspected nothing

"Well, let's get you ready for practice."

I really wasn't looking forward to practice. Heck, I wasn't looking forward to anything. But considering the circumstances, who could blame me? Over the last few months, we had excelled to the point where we could incorporate bending into our sparring matches. But only if used _correctly _and and if we could keep the flames _controlled. _Key words there. Master Fao was generous that day and decided to let us choose our partners. Zuko and Aram were already together so I started walking over to where Roje was. Then, little miss princess stepped right in the center of my path, hands on her hips, staring at me. "Uh, can I help you?" I asked coolly. She performed her infamous eye-roll for the world to see.

"I'm here to spar, duh. You're the only one here that's at the same skill level as me." she clarified matter-of-factly. Hold up. Was that a compliment? Coming from her highness? I blinked, wondering if it had been a wonderful daydream. _Weird..._

Everything seemed really off that day. I was surprisingly stable in comparison to my episode last night. Azula seemed very relaxed, for her that is. Our sparring match was nothing compared to our usual bruise fests. She didn't strike with nearly as much force and neither did I. Though it was a good thing that our match was low-key, it felt strange and different. Was Azula becoming the bigger person and setting our differences aside? I could swear to Agni that I could hear the spirits hiss, "hell no!" Since I didn't have to focus on much, I let my mind wander.

I couldn't wait to tell my father what just happened. Would he be delighted? Shocked or surprised maybe? I glanced over at his spot near Firelord Ozai. But instead of my father, Li Ann stood there, observing our training session. My heart fell again. How stupid was I to have forgotten? At that moment, Azula's heel came in contact with my temple as she hook-kicked. The sudden blow brought me down on one knee. Azula's smirk returned to her face; the one that automatically implied 'Thine-art-epically-better-than-thou.' How stupid was I to think for a minute that Azula was capable of being nice and friendly? Her whole plan was to try and beat me down again. I gritted my teeth.

"What's wrong?" She pretended, for a moment, that she actually cared. "Daddy didn't teach you that one?" A muffled laugh came from behind her closed lips. My whole body began shake and this time, I was aware of it. I remembered how much I hated her; how much pain she had caused me. Before I could control my actions, I flew off the handle.

I flicked my right wrist and instantly flames sprouted from my palms. They grew hotter and larger as my rage increased. That wiped the smirk right off of Azula's face. "What are you doing?" Her voice wavered ever so slightly as I approached her. I enjoyed the next few moments more than I should have.

"Go to hell!" I spat back as my hand flew up. I grabbed her by the throat and slammed her onto the ground. She hollered; rightfully so. Burn marks appeared on her skin once I released. I sat on top of her stomach and punched her in the face again and again. "Fuck you!" I screamed; words a nine year old should never utter. "I hate you!" Azula desperately tried to push me off of her, but I wouldn't budge. She dug her nails into my shoulder, most likely drawing blood, and shoved. I still resisted.

Master Fao had turned his back for barely two minutes to speak with a parent. The teacher whirled around once he heard the shouting and screaming. "Stop!" he yelled, rushing over to where we were. Oh I had heard him alright, but I continued anyway. "ENOUGH!" he bellowed, very loud and clearly, literally ripping me off of Azula. She had taken quite a beating from me. She painfully rose up and stared at me. Her golden eyes displayed an unusual emotion for her; fear.

"...psycho.." I heard her mutter under her breath as her eyes darted around wildly at me. I was still shaking from anger. Master Fao's hand was still firmly grasped on the back of my uniform. All eyes were on me again. But this time, they weren't watching eagerly or hopefully. There was no evident emotion other than shock in their pupils. I felt savage. Like some kind of wild animal. All I knew was that I needed somewhere to go. Somewhere to get away. I sharply pulled away from my instructor and bolted out of the courtyard, not even bothering to look back at Li Ann, the only one who seemed to care about me.

I threw open my front door then slammed it behind me. I needed a place to calm down and reflect; this would be my sanctuary. I glided through the parlor room, eyes barely scanning a sketch drawn of my father and I, propped up on a coffee table. I hurriedly opened the glass cabinet in the kitchen and pulled one down. I found a bottle of, what I thought was, grape juice and pried the cork off the top. Seconds later, I was downing the red liquid like it was going out of style. It was bitter, much too bitter. But I really didn't care about the taste much less the consumption.

I was sitting on the kitchen counter, bare feet on top as well as I poured more into my glass. Then, my father's voice echoed in my mind. _"Sankari, counters aren't meant to be sat on. Go find a chair." _I forgot about calming down. All I wanted was to be stable once more. Too bad you don't ever get what you wish for. I felt a growl slowly become louder in the back of my throat. I chucked the glass across the room, beverage still in it. It shattered against the wall, leaving dark, red liquid trickling down to the ground. I lifted up a chair and hurled it. It left a decent sized gash on one of the cabinets then crashed to the floor. I wanted to destroy. I wanted to rip things apart. I wanted to destroy everything. I grasped the underside of the dining room table and flipped it over on its side. How I did so I wasn't quite sure of; the only explanation I had at the time was adrenaline rush. The water slides began to run down my face again. "Why?" I cried out to no one. "How?" I screamed, feeling the burn in my raw throat. I fell to the fetal position in the corner of the mess and bawled my eyes out. _How, Dad? Tell me how you fell! You said never forever. You promised. _I couldn't stop. I cried and cried until Li Ann came, scooping me up into her arms to steal my pain away.

It had been three days since I left my room. I refused to leave the house, let alone my comfort zone. Li Ann came in one evening. She sat down on my bed next to me and began to run her fingers through my hair. It was comforting, so I let her continue to do so. "One of your little friends came by." she informed me. "Zuko, I think. And also a little girl wearing lots of pink. I couldn't understand everything she said though because she spoke so fast, but I'm pretty sure she wanted you to come out and play." I almost laughed as I imagined Li Ann meeting the ever so peppy Ty Lee, but I didn't. The only sound that came from me was steady breathing.

"I don't want to go outside." I eventually murmured. Li Ann smiled weakly at me. Her eyes were a subtle red- we'd both cried a countless number of hours together once she had found out what happened. "Honey, I miss him too, but you can't shut yourself away like this." I lay my head against her shoulder. I barely even wanted to move. "Your father would want you to be happy." I stared into her forest-green eyes. What she had said had truth behind it. "_I _want you to be happy." she added.

I decided to take Li Ann's advice because at the time she seemed to know what was best for me more than I did. Being cooped up in the house wasn't healthy for me. The next day I took a walk by myself to the Coy Pond. The feel of fresh air felt good against my skin that afternoon. The fish all came out from their hiding spots almost as if on cue as soon as I approached the water. I placed my hand under the surface and felt the coolness. Mr. Fishy boldly swam over to me and nudged one of my fingers with his head. That was the first thing that made me smile in the past week.

Footsteps interrupted my precious moment with nature. Most likely Zuko who had been looking for me. I hoped that he would understand why I wouldn't want to play or run around. But a feminine voice was the one that to whom the footsteps belonged. "Hey." It took my brain a moment to register. I whirled around. My eyes widened. No. It couldn't be; but it was.

Azula stood just a couple of yards away. Her eyebrows weren't narrowed and there was no smirk upon her face; if anything, a very light smile replaced it, and there was gentleness to her tone. She was the last person I expected to see, and the last that I wanted to see, for that matter. "What do you want?" I glared at her. There wasn't much anger behind what I said, but just enough to let her know that I wasn't about to play any of her games. She moved closer, searching for words.

"I, um, noticed you haven't been at practice for a few- for a while." I didn't look directly at her. I let my attention float back to the Coy Fish. I laughed dryly. "And why would you care?" The question wasn't rhetorical. I wanted her to answer it, to enlighten me. Azula cautiously sat down on one of the stones a few feet away from me. She didn't seem to be conniving or plotting in any way, shape or form.

"Honestly?" she began, almost as if she was waiting for my approval for her to continue. "Because, well, I miss you not being there." Whoa, whoa whoa. Stop everything! Did I just hear what I thought I just heard? Man, someone must have spiked my grape juice while I wasn't looking. As crazy as it seemed, it was all reality. Azula went on. "Ever since our first day of training together, I knew that you were at the top of your game. Something about the way that you fought-you could easily beat me if you really wanted to, and you did." My focus was no longer on the Coy Fish. "I looked up to you," she admitted. I thought I was going to have a heart attack and die right there an then. Was this a joke? Was she trying to humor me? But the look in her eyes was sincere and genuine. "That's why I constantly badgered and antagonized you. It wasn't because I didn't like you; I wanted you to get riled up. Because when you fought with determination, it challenged me." she explained. The pieces of the puzzle fit together now. Then I noticed that a portion of skin around her left eye was very dark; I must have given her quite the black eye during my big blow up at practice. I had forgotten how violent I was that day; beating her relentlessly. Punching her until blood oozed out of her nose and mouth. I shuddered.

"I'm really sorry about that." I nodded towards her eye. "I truly didn't mean to go overboard." then she did something that shocked the hell out of me. She apologized to me. "No, _I'm _sorry. I had no idea that..." she trailed off. "I know what it's like to lose someone. My mother...she left us." she grew quite, obviously not wanting to get into detail abut the subject. I removed myself from the grass and sat down on the stones next to her. Azula and I were more alike than I would have guessed. And we were both hurt from similar things that had happened. "We share the same pain." she breathed quietly and I almost didn't hear her. We sat in silence together for the next few minutes. It was a little awkward, but not too much.

"Wow," I finally broke the silence. "No offense Azula, but I didn't think you were capable of being this compassionate." Her cheeks grew a little pink from embarrassment and she playfully punched me in the arm.

"Just don't tell anyone about this conversation of ours and I won't have to hurt you." she bantered. I felt my smile return to its home as we giggled like the little children we were. Azula raised an eyebrow, forming the expression that I'd forever know as her mischievous look. "Turtle-ducks?" Like brother, like sister.


	8. My New Friends Are Quite, Yeah

Just a heads up: I will be at a camp for two days starting Saturday, so I might not post anything new until Sunday (I'll have plenty of time to keep writing though at the camp) Also, school is starting back up soon, so please be patient because I might not be able to update as quickly as I have before (sorry, schoolwork comes before fanfiction :( it sucks right?) well anyway new chapter, enjoy this one was fun to write  
~th3rdhal3~

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After the news became known of the tragic accident of my father's fleet, there was an issue about me; what was going to happen now that my father had died? I didn't know if I had any family alive because of what had happened to my home in the Earth Kingdom six years ago. And like me, my father hand been orphaned when he was younger. I was under the impression that he also had no living relatives that he knew of, at least. I thought that Li Ann would be given custody over me because she was a family friend and had taken care of me while my father was gone. Li Ann wanted me to live with her and the rest of her family; that meant even withdrawing me from my training sessions. I didn't mind entirely, if it meant I would be living with someone whom I cared for, the idea of leaving behind the fighting world was not so bad. But, there were some legal issues; Li Ann wasn't technically family, but there was no other family in the picture whom I could live with, so it was up for debate whether or not I would live with Li Ann or not. Then one day, Ozai called upon me.

The throne room was empty when I entered. Pillars filled either side of the room. I followed the red carpet trail to the steps of his throne. Immediately, I dropped to my knees and into a respectful bow. Though I was young, I knew how to act in the presence of royalty. I had been taught well. "You may rise, Sankari." Ozai's smooth voice rolled over the crackling flames which surrounded him. I still remained on my knees, but now I was looking directly at him. The only light in the large room came from the fire around him. The Firelord appeared vague and ominous because I could only see his dark silhouette. "It has come to my attention that there is controversy on your upbringing." I nodded politely. "And Lady Nyguen has been your caretaker, yes?" He was referring to Li Ann. I nodded once more

"Yes, sir." I answered short and to the point; the perfect reply expected of a child.

"I have decided to make an executive decision then." Ozai rose from this throne. "After that...tragic, misfortune, it would be a shame for someone with such talent as yourself to leave behind everything you've worked for." He had a point. My father had been training me for years. To give up on fighting was like giving up on him. It made me think. Ozai continued. "That is why I have made the decision to have you stay in the palace, permanently." Permanently? The palace? Why would Ozai go out of his way to accommodate me? I mean after all, I was nothing more than an orphan now. Did he possibly see something in me as well? "You, Zuko and Azula will continue to train with one another. Your father would have wanted you to progress." The Firelord had spoken of something painful, but for some reason, I wasn't as bothered when my father was mentioned. However, my palms did grow sweaty on my knees. "And since he is no longer among us," Ozai pressed on, descending the stairs towards me. "It is now my responsibility to make you feel just as much a part of this family as Zuko and Azula are." I noticed how he hadn't mentioned Ursa, and I knew that Azula really had been telling the truth. "Maybe you can even toughen up my son." he remarked under his breath. I was tempted to laugh, but I fought against the urge; I didn't want to ruin my reputation. So instead, I simply bowed and saidl "Thank you, Firelord Ozai." I stood up. We were now on equal level with one another; of course he was still a good foot and a half taller than me. Hey, nine year-olds are short.

"One of the guards outside will show you to your new quarters." he informed me. I bowed one last time before exiting the premises.

I was placed on the second floor of the West Wing. The room that was reserved for me was twice the size of my old one; my old room was pretty spacious though because we lived in a big house, my father being a General and all. The bed was an extended 'Full.' Finally! I could stretch my little nine year-old body as far as I wanted while I slept. My old bed was alright, but it was barely larger than a 'Twin' size. Though I had been uneasy about the idea of moving into the palace, now I was beginning to like it.

"Hey." A voice caused me to jump as I was opening the door to my new room. I turned around. Up against the wall in the hallway, was the depressed looking girl with two topknots.

"Hi." I greeted her back, throwing some things into the room. She looked bored as usual, but surprisingly was trying to start a conversation.  
"So you're moving in then?" she asked, eying the suitcase on the bed in my new room. I smiled and nodded. "Yep, that's the idea." She followed me into the room as I started to unpack. A few more trips from the house to the palace and I'd have moved just about all of my stuff.

"I'm Mai, by the way." she finally introduced herself as I began sorting some clothes into the large walk-in closet which I had fallen in love with. "Just thought you should know." she added the last part mainly to herself.

"I'm-"

"Sankari, I know. Azula's mentioned you before. Same with Ty Lee." Mai interrupted. I tried to recall the last time I was with the happy little aura-loving acrobat. "So do you and Azula still have beef, or what?" she asked, arms folded, now leaning against a desk. She actually seemed intrigued as she looked at me; instead of her usual emotionless stare.

"Actually, everything was resolved." I explained to Mai. "Azula was the bigger person and apologized to me for being a big jerk-face." Mai stared at me as if I was a crazy woman. She then laughed dryly.

"I may not look like I pay attention to crap, but you must think I am really stupid if you expect me to believe that." _What? _She thought I was lying? I was telling the gosh damn truth. My mouth hung open as I stopped hanging up my clothes and gaped at her from across the room. Awkward silence. Mai's eyes widened very slightly ad I would've missed it if I had not been paying attention. Wait...you're telling the truth?" I nodded slowly, a dumbfounded look still plastered onto my face. "Oh my," she mused to herself. "This is the end of the world as we know it. We must find Ty Lee asap!" Before I knew what was happening, I was being dragged down the hall by someone I had just gotten acquainted with.

Our little acrobatic friend was twirling around in the courtyard, also performing cartwheels and hand-stands. She jumped to her feet once she saw us. Mai still had a death grip on my wrist as she pulled me behind her. Ty Lee giggled all happy-like at the sight of us. "Hey guys, whatcha doin?"

"No time for chit-chat, Ty. This is serious!" Mai gasped dramatically. If it were possible, Ty Lee's already large eyes grew even more. She was always excited whether something good or bad was about to be discussed. "The world as we know it, is about to end! Where's Azula?" Ty Lee pressed her elbows onto the ground and bent her back so that her legs dangled down above her head.'She went inside to find a jump rope." The smaller girl beamed. Mai was at a loss for words. 'A jump rope? Really?' her expression seemed to question. I wondered as well what on Earth Azula intended to do with a jump rope.

"Why is she-no never mind," Mai shook her head as she refocused. "Anyways, the world is going to end!" Mai's arms were flailing. Ty Lee giggled from her position on the ground. "Oh Mai,"she cooed. "Lighten up, will you?

"I-I'm serious." Mai stuttered. "She apologized to _her!_" She yanked me in front of her as if I were some sort of display. "Azula showed compassion! It's the end of the world!" Ty Lee gave Mai the same look I had received only minutes ago; yes, the 'you are a crazy woman' look. "Um Mai? I think you've been out in the sun too long. Azula doesn't even know the meaning of the word 'apologize.'" I tired my best to hold it in, but I couldn't. A nice hearty laugh escaped my lips as well as Ty Lee's and eventually we even saw Mai smiling too. The dark haired girl was more than enjoy in a good round of poking fun at her overly aggressive friend.

"You can say that again." Mai sighed. "She wouldn't recognize guilt if it snuck up behind her and bit her on the butt." More laughter followed her comment. Feeling the need to contribute, I racked my brain, thinking of something to add in.

"Did you know that 'Azula' said backwards is 'Aluza?' Get it? A loser?" Ty Lee fell out of her acrobatic position, rolling on the ground. Even Mai giggled quietly, which was a lot coming from her. It was good to know that the girl had more than just one emotion.

"Oh that's a knee-slapper, Kari!" Ty Lee squealed from down on the grass. Huzzah for me! I had made another funny! Then I noticed Azula returning from inside the palace, jump rope in hand. "Hey Aluza!" I called out before I could stop myself.. "Get your butt over here!" She glared at me one she figured out the connection between her name and the one that I had shouted.

"What did you call me?" she questioned. Mai grinned smugly besides me. I could only imagine on what she was planning on saying."So I heard you two made nice, little miss compassion." she was having too much fun with it. Azula glanced at the three of us, then her eyes landed on me for a second time. Her mouth dropped open.

"Didn't I tell you not to say anything about that?" The princess snapped. Uh oh. My face went blank. I knew there was something I forgot.

"...maybe?" I remembered. Now it was Mai who owned the smirk; Ty Lee kept giggling as well. Azula's face grew red again. I didn't think she was serious when she 'threatened' me that one time.

"When I am done with you, my sissy ass brother will have something new to feed to his precious turtle-ducks!" she shrieked. That was all I needed to hear. I screamed and took off around the courtyard, the angry girl hot on my trail. From the center, Ty Lee and Mai watched with amusement as Azula chased me around and around and around some more. I was glad I had such good cardio.

"You know, anytime you two would like to assist would be _greatly _appreciated!" I barked over my shoulder at the other two. Some friends they were.

"Keep running," Mai cupped her hands around her mouth for extra effect. "You're doing great!" She gave me the thumbs up signal. I was highly considering beating that girl once this whole ordeal was over and done with.

"Come back here, pipsqueak!" Azula demanded. Like hell I would. Eying the Willow Tree, I dashed for it and quickly began to climb its knotted trunk. I was about to crawl onto one of the branches when I felt myself being pulled down from my leg. There was a great fall, tumble, roll and then a large, SPLOOSH! I sat up in the water, spitting out a bamboo reed that decided to enter my mouth when I face-planted into the pond. Azula sat proudly next to me, equally as drenched as I was.

"Well, princess?" I asked, wringing out my sleeves.

"Now we're even." A large smile took over Azula's face, forcing me to grin as well. What a start to a wonderful friendship.


	9. Zuko Becomes Zuzu

I is back from camp yay! Hopefully I'll have another chapter up by tonight, thanks for being patient guys!  
~th3rdhal3~

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"I'm bored, Kari. What should we do?" Azula lay upside down, halfway on her bed. We were both eleven then and spent most of our days doing everything together; It was strange knowing that someone who used to practically loathe me was now my best friend. I sat at the end of her bed, tossing one of the pillows to myself. Mai was out having 'family time' as she described it, air quotes and all. Though she was never the life of the party when with us, Mai preferred our company rather than being with her parents. Ty Lee wasn't in the picture either; on a vacation with her parents and sisters, if I remembered correctly. So it was just Azula and I and we were fresh out of ideas.

"I really want something sugary right now." I confessed. Azula flipped up so that she was sitting.

"Okay, sugar-high it is!" I cocked my head to the side, giving her a questioning look. She stood in the doorway, grinning. "C'mon, we're on the quest to find sugar." she beckoned me to follow.

We traveled to the kitchen. I wondered why Azula didn't simply order the servants to fetch us some sugary goodness. "Hey Zu," I asked, calling her by the nickname I had made given her. "Why are we going to find stuff? Can't you just like, make the servants bring us candy?" Azula picked up a stool from the corner and placed it at the base of the back corner. She giggled.

"I'm in the mood for chocolate right now. The servants won't give me any, even if I rough them up a little. Daddy gave them strict orders not to." Her right foot left the stool as she pulled herself onto the counter. "Apparently it makes me go on an insane sugar rampage, or something like that." she shrugged. Her hands grasped the handle of a high cabinet. She thrust it open and began to search around. A moment later, she hopped down, a flat package in her hand. "But fortunately, I know where they keep it hidden." She proudly presented the deliciousness to me. The label read: '_Lee's Dark Chocolate.' _Jackpot! We tore the wrapper off together and indulged. I grabbed a chunk and shoved it into my mouth. Instantly, creamy richness washed over my taste buds. It was so good. Too good. I needed more. In a matter of seconds, Azula and I had devoured the whole package. I could feel the sugar already working its way into my bloodstream. One minute, Azula and I were perfectly fine, the next we were giggling and babbling like mental patients.

"Okay, we're hyper, full of sugar and completely mad. What do we do?" My blood pressure sped up as well as my speech. Azula raised both of her arms into the air like a super-star.

"Let's go on a _super _insane sugary rampage!" she cheered. Never before had I felt more bad for the poor souls inside the palace.

We thundered down each and every hallway. Laughing hysterically and shouting loudly as we did so. We terrorized the poor servants; she and I chased a good number of them and sent the rest into hiding. Together, we ripped down tapestries and knocked over decorative pieces in the hallways. I felt so awake and alive. I was seeing strange colors though, because all of the sugar was beginning to effect my senses. Yes, being sugar-high was a wonderful feeling. Zuko roamed the palace by himself. He had just turned thirteen not too long ago and was already picking up normal teenage habits. Like for example: strolling around the around the corridors alone with a bored expression upon his handsome face. Unfortunately for him, he found us, or more likely, we ran into _him. _

"I know you!" Azula pointed to him as if she'd just discovered gold. It was definitely the sugar talking. I couldn't put a name on Zuko because all of the sugar had gone to my brain, completely wiping out my memory. Zuko sighed and glared at Azula. "Hm, maybe because I'm your brother." he suggested sarcastically. "I honestly don't know why you hand out with this nut-job, Kari." He turned to me. My brain cells were a big blobby, sugary mess. Though I was not the sharpest crayon in the box in reality, I was totally oblivious.

"Kari? Is that my name?" I asked all loopy-like. Zuko looked at me as if I had just kicked a puppy. Then, he put his face in his hands and groaned, "Not you too!" Azula paid no attention to his insults. Instead, she stood there, pondering. She scrunched up her eyebrows.

"Your name is...it's...it's Zu..." she paused, trying to recall the rest of it. "It's Zu-something or another. What's his name?" she asked, staring directly at me. I was dumb as mud, especially in the middle of a sugar-high; why in the hell would she ask me? The girl who didn't even remember her own name moments ago. I had nothing. "Zu?" I shrugged, re-stating what she had already come up with. Azula beamed and pointed an index finger into the air.

"Zuzu!" she squealed. "It's Zuzu!" She immediately glomped her brother who had absolutely no idea what was going on. I joined her glomp.

"I thought it was' Zuko,' but hey, that works too." Zuko squirmed in our hold, trying to pry us off of him. Normally, he wouldn't have minded a hug from me, but his sister? She practically hated him, so he knew the only reason she hugged him was because she was U.I.S: Under the influence of sugar. Well that and he was a teenage boy. They don't show much affection, especially towards younger siblings. "Get off of me!" He finally broke free from our glomp and starting walking away. Azula called out after him.

"Where you going, Zuzu? And will you bring back juju?" That was kiddie word for juice. Zuko turned around to yell at her from ten feet away. "Away from you, and no! Get your own damn juju!" As he retreated down the hallway, I could swear I saw smoke lines rising from his clothes and head. I waved after him, childishly. "Buh-bye Zuzu!"

I was rudely awakened from my evening nap one night as I was pulled off of my sofa and onto the floor. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked up. "Azula, what do you want?" I mumbled, yawning. She yanked me to my feet, forcing me to wake up.

"Come on you lazy bum, there's going to be an Agni Kai!" she smiled with glee. A fire duel! I instantly forgot about how much I wanted to sleep and followed her out to the court where it was being held. On the way there, I asked her a dozen times what it was about and who were to be fighting. She didn't give me a straight answer. All she said to me was, "Someone's going to learn their lesson tonight."

The court was in an open part of the palace. A huge crowd had gathered there. Azula and I snaked our way through the crowd until we reached we reached front row viewing. General Iroh was right there, a grim expression on his wise face. Torches lined the sides of the up-ground court, signaling the duel was bout to begin. The anticipation was killing me. Then, on one side of the arena, Zuko appeared. I was shocked and surprised that he was involved in the Agni Kai. He slipped off his uniform jacket, revealing abs and a muscular build; impressive for a thirteen year-old. Zuko looked calm and confident-the perfect emotions for a battle, like so. That was, until he set gaze upon his opponent.

The Firelord stood on the opposite side of the court. Zuko's beautiful eyes widened as he set eyes on his father. I made the assumption that he did not know it was Ozai whom he would be fighting. My insides were jumping. Azula's words replayed in my head. _'Someone's going to learn their lesson tonight.' _The first person to ever seek out my friendship was about to receive the beating of his lifetime. The poor boy fell to his knees before his father, begging, pleading. "Father, please. I meant you no disrespect!" He was practically in tears. Ozai towered over him, and that was the first time I had ever seen the Firelord's wrath.

"No son of mine is a coward. You will learn respect, Zuko. Stand and fight or you will be shamed." My mind was racing. How could Zuko find it in him to fight his own father? And that was just it; he couldn't -no he wouldn't. Zuko refused to duel Ozai, and for that he paid the consequences. Iroh looked away, he couldn't bear to watch. Beside me, Azula grinned devilishly, waiting anxiously for her brother to suffer. I wanted to turn my face the other way but I couldn't bring myself to do so. I saw everything. Zuko's youthful face was seared by the scorching flames cast by his father. His _father. _My eyes soaked in so much that night. I would never look upon the Firelord with the same amount of respect ever again. Zuko had _begged_ for forgiveness. He bowed down, humiliating himself in front of everyone. But apparently that wasn't enough. Now the prince had an everlasting reminder of his 'mistake.' A permanent scar.

_Zuzu..._even my mind could only whisper his name.


	10. The Best of Fiends

I just thought I'd say...today is my birthday! Yay! 8/24 hehe anyway, here's another fun chapter. And It has come to my attention that there has been a request for a certain something. Though I am not at liberty to reveal anything (actually I am :D) I will say that whoever you are, you are on the right track :D I is out now, PEACE!  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

After the episode of the Agni Kai, Zuko was banished. According to Ozai, the boy had proved to be an embarrassment and a disgrace to the royal family. Zuko was given a task before he left the Fire Nation; he would have to find and bring back the avatar. Only then could he restore his honor and be welcomed back as prince. His uncle chose to accompany him on his journey, since Zuko was still not quite and adult.

I came to his room just as he was gathering last minute things for his voyage. He had the hair around his pony-tail shaved, as part of his banishment. There was no more innocence in his keen, golden eyes; only anger, frustration and hurt. The scar spread over his left eye seemed to seethe with anger itself. His hard gaze softened as he noticed me in the threshold. Zuko attempted to smile at my presence or even lighten up his mood, but he was having a hard time in doing so. "Kari..." He spoke my name gently and meaningfully. I stepped into the room. He stood there, listlessly, trying to figure out what to say next. I didn't wait for him to find his voice again; instead, I threw my arms around his neck, capturing him in a big emotional hug.

"You shouldn't have to go, Zuko." I fought back tears as I pressed the side of my head into the shoulder pads of his armor. He placed his hands on my back, completing the embrace. Another person whom I cared for deeply was leaving me. Zuko was my first friend and the idea of him being sent away was horrible. I didn't want to loose him too.

"I know." he replied, grimly but calmly. "But it is my destiny to capture the avatar. Then I will get my honor and father's love back." My young eleven year-old mind couldn't understand why he had to earn his father's love again. I had always thought that love was unconditional-especially from a parent. It was hard to let go of him. I worried for his safety. The avatar was supposed to be the most powerful bender. They could control all four of the elements masterfully. Would fire-bending be enough for Zuko? Could he rely on it to restore his honor? "I should be going now." We ended our embrace. He stopped halfway out the door. His hand gripped the side of the wall as he turned around. "I'm sorry." His voice was low and gravely. "But this is something that I have to do. You understand, right?" I nodded my head, feeling melancholy. Zuko noticed the look in my eyes; a sea of confusion and discomfort. His face fell and he returned to me. He grasped my shoulders and looked directly into my gray iris'. "Sankari, I _promise _you, I _will _come back." My eyes lingered upon his for a short moment, and with that, he was gone.

* * *

It was different without Zuko around the first couple of months. Aram seemed pretty bummed for a while; the two had been best buds. His absence even effected Azula; she had to find someone new to bother and and torment-mainly Mai, Ty Lee and occasionally me. Zuko didn't know exactly when he would return. That all depended on when he discovered and captured the avatar. Weeks slowly turned into months. A year had passed, and Zuko was still on his hunt.

The four of us had a little party when Ty Lee finally turned twelve like the rest of us. I decided I was going to cook something special; I had learned well from my father when it came to food and the kitchen. I made shish-kabobs. It was pretty easy for me because I was a fire-bender. All I had to do was slide the ingredients onto thin wooden stakes and let them roast over my hand which was on fire. While cooking, I noticed something odd; my flames were a faint color. The orange was washed out and subtle. Did that mean something was wrong with me? Was I possibly dehydrated? I felt perfectly fine, though. I shrugged it off and brought the food to my friends. Mai ate quietly while Ty Lee and I scarfed down the succulent meat. Azula eyed her kabob strangely. "Kari, didn't you make any with just peppers and mushrooms and stuff?" she asked. I was already done with my first kabob and working on my second.

"Do you not want meat or something?" I asked in return, mouth full. _Who in their own right mind could possibly not like meat? _I wondered. It was so good and hunger satisfying.

"Yeah...I'm a vegan." The princess replied. I was taking a sip of my juice and if I did not have as much control over my bodily functions, I would have spewed out the drink, showering the three. Instead, I swallowed hard, sending liquid down the wrong tube. I hacked for a good twenty seconds.

"Wha-a-at?" I obnoxiously drew out the word, starting it out low and then raising the pitch. This was news to me. Terrible news. All I could do was gasp in awe. Mai, who was not convinced, raised an eyebrow.

"Since when?" Azula glared at us like we were the worst friends ever for not knowing that about her. She folded her arms. "Since practically forever. I thought we went over this before." Well apparently not when I was around. I was still shocked and appalled. How could she be a vegan? There were too many restrictions and plus, no meat! How could people live like that? I grabbed a kabob loaded with strips of steak and jumped to my feet. "No friend of mine is a vegan!" I charged down Azula who was sitting cross-legged across from me. I shoved the kabob in her face as I tackled her. There was a great struggle. "Eat it!" I commanded. She resisted, forcing the wooden steak away from her. I pushed harder. "EAT IT!" Mai drank her tea calmly and ignored the ruckus in the background. She'd had years of learning how to tune us out. The oldest girl turned to the cheery little birthday girl whom we _all_ should have been paying attention to. "Hm I think now's a good time to open presents, Ty." The little contortionist's eyes sparkled with joy.

"Yay! Presents!"

Mai walked into my room a few days later to find me tied to a chair. Trust me, I've had weirder things happen to me. She stared at me, blankly then closed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask." Then Azula came in with a raw steak she had swiped from the kitchen. My eyes lit up and I began to drool. She placed the precious meat on a table about five feet away from me. "I know I said I wasn't going to ask, but what in Agni is going on?" Azula double checked the ropes which bound me to the chair.

"I'm teaching Kari how to become a vegan." she explained. "It requires lots of will power to be one, something she obviously doesn't have enough of." She glanced over at me who was busy trying to scoot my way over to the table. No dice; the chair was weighed down. I was going nowhere real fast.

"Ow." I complained. My wrists were sore from the constant pulling. For extra measure, Azula had put shackles on me. "Are theses really necessary?" I turned my head past my shoulder to look down at my wrists behind me. "I feel like a slave. What are you gonna do, whip me if I misbehave?" I retorted. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mai half-grinning and possibly chuckling to herself. Thought I still didn't realized it, I was funny at times. Azula rolled her eyes at my comment. "You're lucky I'm not going to hit you for that. I'll be back." She left the room. It was just Mai and I. Thought I knew it was impossible, I kept trying to pull myself and the chair closer to the steak. I was pretty pathetic when it came to meat. The look on Mai's face seemed to concur with that statement as she watched me continue to fail. She walked over to the table and picked up the plate. "Azula can bend all the fire she wants at me, I can't bear to watch a dumb animal suffer." she teased, expressionless. I almost shouted out an objection to her comment but realized that she was going to help me out. "I seriously wouldn't-it'll make you sick, but if you insist. Here." She put the plate on my lap and exited my room as well. I was overjoyed.

" Thanks Mai!" I called out after her. I leaned in to smoosh my face into the wonderful meat which lay in front of me. I stopped. I tried again. And again. The ropes prohibited me from bending any further. I was so close yet so far. "No!" I howled in despair. "Damn you Mai! Damn you to hell!"

Surprisingly, Mai and I had gotten along really well. I guess it was because I understood her in a certain aspect. I also knew how to act around her; not super cheery yet not down in the dumps either-a medium, if you will. I knew that deep inside, Mai was capable of displaying as much emotion as Ty Lee and I were. But at that point, I didn't know why she wouldn't. We would always dare each other to do ridiculous things: I got her to skip everywhere she went one day. Another day she made me sing everything I would say in opera format-that was quite lovely. But I remember one time in particular when she, Ty Lee and I were playing Wall-Ball in the hall. "I think Azula's PMSing." I shared my thoughts, recalling how she had snapped at all of us at various times earlier that morning. Ty Lee caught the ball and sent it up the wall again. "You think?"

"Hey, I started my time of the month when I was eleven." Mai, who had just turned thirteen, told us. She picked up the ball and started the ricochet all over again. "But with Azula you can never tell, because it seems like everyday she's PMSing." The three of us laughed in unison. I bounced the ball against the floor and into the wall once more. "You know what would be really funny?" Ty Lee and I waited for her to finish. "If you stole her hair piece, Kari."

Being the stupid child I was, I agreed to Mai's challenge. She and Ty Lee waited outside of Azula's room while I went inside. The princess was standing in front of her rather large mirror, trying to fix her own hair. She was just about done with her topknot when she acknowledged me. "Kari, have you seen my hair piece anywhere?"

"The one that looks like a sharp, pointy object of death?"

"The would be the one." she replied sweetly. My eyes happened to catch something shiny and gold laying on top of her bed. Bingo! I picked it up and studied it for a moment. Golden, just like her eyes. "Ah, there it is. Hand me that, will you?" Azula held her hand out. I was almost about to give it to her, then I remembered Mai's dare. Azula noticed that I hadn't moved; I stood there, thinking what my next move would be. "Kari, give me my hair piece." she repeated, a little more curtly the second time. She saw me eying the door as I slowly began to shift my feet. "Kari," she warned. "I'm not in the mood." I didn't stop. I kept shifting over. "Don't you dare." she demanded, realizing what I was doing.

"Oh I didn't dare- Mai did." I giggled like an idiot, then bottled out the door. "I got it! I got it!" I cheered as Mai and Ty Lee watched me run past them. _Now what do I do with it? _I could hear an extremely angry voice behind me though I didn't dare turn around.

"You little shit! I will fire-bend you into the next dynasty!" I was right; she was definitely PMSing. The thing about Azula's threats though, was that she followed through on ninety-percent of them. She was livid then, I could only imagine what she'd do to me once she'd catch up. I couldn't believe how Mai had tricked me into doing this; my life was at stake. The chase was on.

"'Scuse me! Coming through!" I dodged and did my best to evade the servants and any other passerby that were in my way. After this little episode, I was going to make Mai sing the Fire Nation Anthem half naked, juggling apples and riding a unicycle outside in the blistering cold of winter. I was flying down the halls at what I thought was the speed of light. But apparently not fast enough because Azula was still dashing after me. Cursing, swearing, and threatening as she did so; so basically her usual, only worse because she was PMSing. I sped around a corner quickly and threw myself into a dumbwaiter. She zoomed past me, thinking that I had somehow managed to get farther down the hallway. I was safe for then.

Using the cable that was fed through the center of the dumbwaiter, I pulled myself gradually down. It was dark between the floors so I couldn't see anything. I kept pulling at the cable until the dumbwaiter creaked and I could see light. I had made it to the first floor. I crawled out, only to be discovered by the pissed off princess. How had she gotten down to the first floor so fast? Then I remembered that the palace was her house so she probably knew of certain faster passageways and what not. "Where is it?" Her teeth were clenched. I had hid the metal piece inside my long sleeve so that it appeared as if it were no longer in my possession anymore. She drew closer. I raised my arms up in surrender. "Don't hurt me! I tossed it in the bathroom of the South Wing." She glared at me, then stalked off down the hall. I sighed in relief to myself. I was just about to slip away, when Azula slowly turned herself around to face me.

"There is no South Wing." Her grin wasn't friendly. "You little liar." Caught red handed. Ah crap on a stick. I smiled, guilty as charge.

"I learned from the best." I bantered.

Mai heard my cries for help and followed the sound of my voice to where Azula had me pinned on the ground. This was just a little weird; just a bit. "Mai, save me! Azula's raping me!" I hollered from on the ground. I had given her fair warning that I would yell it out for the world to hear, but she didn't listen to me. "Am not!" The princess hissed. "Give it back!" Mai's infamous rare grin returned to her mouth as she glanced at us. I wanted to beat her for talking me into doing the dare.

"Aw how cute." Mai pretended to coo. "I can't wait to tell Ozai that his daughter and and his second prodigy are gay for each other." WHAT? I was going to fire-bend Mai into oblivion for that comment. Never had I felt more awkward in my life. Well at least at that time. She would pay; she would pay dearly.

"I am not gay!" Azula shrieked, giving Mai the death stare. If looks could kill, Mai would have roasted to death, slowly. Azula rolled off me and snatched up the metal piece, placing it in her topknot.

"Me neither." I agreed, still lying on the ground. I shivered, suddenly. "I've just been violated." I whimpered. Azula shot me a glare as well.

"Oh shut up, you big baby. All it took was one hit and you went down." As embarrassing as that story was, it was true. She had thrown herself at me, causing both of us to topple to the ground. Our argument was interrupted when a man in Fire Nation armor approached us. His stance was strong and perfectly proportioned. The man had a look of authority written all over his face. He had brown hair and long side burns I had seen him before. His name was General Zhao.

"Sankari," he glanced at me for a moment, to make sure that I was the right person he was looking for. "The Firelord would like a word with you."


	11. I Become A Legend in My Own Mind

I had school today ugh! But I do have study hall- the perfect time to write more for the fanfic :D hope you like, and more is coming soon! By the way I failed to mention before and also because I only have so characters for the summary but the point of view will change to one or more characters in the near future, but don't worry, it will switch off so that Sankari will have her side as well.  
~th3rdhal3~

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I followed General Zhao into the throne room. I wondered what the Firelord could possibly want with me. Had I done something wrong? Was I in trouble? Thoughts were swimming and buzzing around my head. I tried to ease my mind as I bowed down to my superior. "Firelord Ozai, you asked to see me?" He was not sitting upon his throne. Instead, the Firelord stepped down the stairs and stood before me.

"Yes, and how many times must I tell you? There is no need to address me so formally." Ozai almost seemed as though he were smiling. I didn't buy too into it that time. My feelings towards him had changed after the Agni Kai; I wasn't as naïve as I used to be. Ozai had a cruel side- one I didn't like. But at the same time, he was my ruler, my leader, I gave him that respect. "I have been noticing your progress over the last three years and I am highly impressed. Your martial arts are excellent and your fire-bending is far more than satisfactory." He was praising me. So I wasn't in trouble for anything; but where was he going with all of this? "We, the Fire Nation, need those like you who posses such talent in the fighting arts." Ozai continued as he paced around me. "Our military would be at its best with individuals like you, having large numbers at their command." I was beginning to understand what was going on and what he wanted of me. "This is my proposal:" The Firelord stopped in front of me, hands together. "How would you like to be, a General?" My heart skipped a beat as I comprehended his offer. Me? A General? My ears couldn't believe it. There was no way that could happen. I was too young, wasn't I?I was overwhelmed. I stammered a reply to him.

"But, I-I'm only twelve years-"

"But you have so much skill and potential, Sankari." The Firelord spoke over me, feeding my ego. "Think about it; you could lead our nation into victory. You could take your father's place-you'd be legendary." A window of opportunity opened in my mind. I could continue on my father's legacy. I would make his spirit proud. Yes, that's what I would do. I pretended to mull it over in my head for another moment or two, though my mind was already made up. I knelt down on one knee as if I were to be knighted. I bowed before my ruler. "I would be honored to serve as your General, sir." Ozai grinned, a hint of triumph in his eyes.

"What happened?" Ty Lee asked as soon as I regrouped with her, Azula and Mai in Azula's room. The pink loving girl was standing on her hands when I entered the room, her long braid touching the floor. Azula glanced up from filing her claws.

"So, did Daddy give you a beating because you made of with _my _stuff?" she asked sarcastically. Haha. She was so funny that one. I stuck my tongue out at her; very mature, I was aware.

"You guys won't believe this," I began t to share the news. "But Azula's Dad just made me a General." All six eyes were on me. They all looked up at me in sync, too; that was just a little creepy. Just a little.

"What now?" Mai gaped as if she hadn't quite heard me clearly.

"I am a General now." I proudly repeated. Azula's eyes were very wide, as if she could not believe it that it were true. There was no response from Ty Lee. I glared at the three. No support from them, figures. "What?" I stared them down, kind of irritated at that point. Mai dipped a brush into the black nail polish in front of her and began to apply a coating on her left hand. "Well no offense dear, but you're...not the sharpest tool in the shed." How rude! I admitted that I was no braniac or anything like that, but I was smart enough to get by; or so I thought. Ty Lee giggled at her comment. Sure it was funny, but not to me at the time. Azula punched both of them in the arm to stop them from teasing me.

"I think that's great, Kari." She changed her attitude. "You're finally taking initiative." Well at least _someone _was encouraging. I mean, I loved Mai dearly, but sometimes I wanted to give that girl a good 'ol smack upside the head. I wasn't quite as mad at Ty Lee because she was normally sweet and positive.

"Yeah," I agreed. "And I've already been assigned to a mission." It was surprising enough that a twelve year-old was given a high ranking military position; now I was going to be commanding a ship. The thought scared and thrilled me at the same time.

"When do you leave?" Ty Lee wondered, somersaulting across the floor. Could that girl ever sit still? Just for once? But that's what I liked about her. She was so energetic.

"Two weeks." I responded.

* * *

Ozai needed more troops in the Earth Kingdom. I would be shipped out with other soldiers to conquer towns and villages in the name of the Fire Nation. Like Zuko, I didn't know how long I'd be gone for or when I'd return; so we decided to live it up before I had to navigate a ship.

The four of us decided to have a sleepover party one of the nights. We stayed up late, goofing off, eating candy and playing truth-or-dare; fortunately, we kept the chocolate away from Azula...and me. I finally got the sweet taste of revenge when I made Mai do jumping while singing the Fire Nation Anthem, outside in the freezing cold of night, in only her undergarments. The other two and I had a good laugh at that one. When we finally went to sleep, we crashed on Azula's floor. Though her bed was a queen, there was more room for all of us on the ground. I slept pretty well and peacefully until I was awoken when I felt arms around me. I jerked around quickly to see whom they belonged to. Azula! I shifted myself one way so that I could tell her to knock it off, but she was in a deep sleep. "Let go!" I hissed into the darkness. She mumbled but showed no sign of being awake. "Azula, I am not a teddy bear." I moved my elbow sharply on accident. A little too sharply. SMACK!

"Ow! What the hell? That was my nose!" She hit me in the arm. The princess was awake now. She must not have been a really heavier sleeper like she had appeared to be moments ago.

"Well I don't appreciate being used as a stuffed animal." I snapped back, trying to bop her with my pillow.

"Hey lovebirds," Mai's husky voice came from my left. It was muffled slightly because she had half of her face pressed into her pillow. "Calm it down over yonder." Ooh, she was gonna get it and get it good. I twisted to my other side and gave Mai a swift kick in the butt. The older girl reacted exactly how I wanted her to. "Ow! Why are you abusing me? Go hurt Ty Lee or something." she whined, distancing herself from me. Though it was pretty dark, I could only see the three of us.

"Guys, Ty Lee is M.I.A. Where'd she go?" I whispered to my friends. Where the hell could she have possibly gone anyway? Was she a sleep walker? I could barely see Azula pointing up to her bed.

"There's the little hooligan, she must have climbed in when she thought we were all asleep. Sneaky bitch, if I weren't so tired I would kick her ass." I actually found it amusing, but I was tired as well as the princess, so I didn't even attempt to laugh. I placed my head on my pillow and Azula did the same beside me. I scooted a few inches away.

"Oh no you don't!" I warned. "You stay where you are."

"But you're warm..." she protested. I had to have been hallucinating. It was late at night-or early in the morning after all. No more late nights for me. They were effecting my brain.

"Good night, Azula." I rolled over away from her, not even giving her a second thought.

Too soon it was time for me to leave my friends. I stood on the same docks as my father had years ago, in full armor. I had shoulder pads just like Zuko, now. And the Fire Nation symbol stretched from my lower stomach up to my chest. The uniform had actually belonged to my father, but I had it hemmed and re-sized so that I could wear it as well. I stood there, inspecting my ship. It was large, but not as enormous as some of the other vessels. I swallowed my pride and sighed deeply. I didn't think that I was ready for this, but I really didn't have a choice anymore. There was no way I could back out then. Not when there was so much to do. Yes, I was nervous, but excitement filled me as well. I hadn't been to the Earth Kingdom in just about decade.

Azula stood with me on the pier as the crew and engineers readied the ship for departure. I had said my goodbyes to Mai and Ty Lee already. My little acrobatic friend was sad to see me leave. She hugged me for a long time. Though Mai remained almost emotionless, like usual, I could see sorrow behind her dark eyes. Things would be different without them being with me. There was an awkward silence between the princess and I. We didn't know what to say to one another at the moment. I broke the silence first. "Well," I started, scratching the back of my neck. "I guess this is goodbye for now." I was barely finished with my sentence when Azula wrapped her arms around me into a close embrace. In all of the three years in which I had known her, that was one of the only times when she had hugged me and _truly _meant it. I returned the affectionate gesture.

"I'm gonna miss you like hell." she laughed in my ear. I smiled at her words because I was going to miss her as well. It felt like one of those perfect moments as we embraced. But like all moments, it eventually died.

"Things are definitely going to be less chaotic without you around." I joked, watching her eyes sparkled as she laughed with me. I tried not to think of the pain that would come, knowing that I wouldn't see her, Mai or Ty Lee for a while. One of my usual grins masked my inner feelings."I won't be gone long." I guaranteed her. If I had inherited anything from my father it was his no concept of time.

For the first time in nine years, I boarded my father's ship; now _my _ship. Mu uniform and armor gave me a feeling of authority and leadership once I stepped onto my water vessel. No longer was I the little lost girl who couldn't find her place. No more was I the goofy kid who just wanted a friend or two. Once I waltzed into the captain's control room, I was now an all important military official. I was the equivalent to General Tsong. The Captain was a man by the name of Boldbaatar, or so I was told. He bowed once I entered. "We are at your command." The Captain stated the obvious. But even though it was redundant, I liked hearing the words as well as knowing they were so. It gave me a sense of power and I liked that. "What are your orders?" He pulled out a grid sheet out onto a table, one used to chart the path that a ship would go. I answered as though I had twelve years of experience.

"Set a course for the Western Earth Kingdoms."

"As you wish, General Sankari."


	12. An Interesting Voyage

I know that some of you might have questions and things. Some of which will be answered as you continue to read, some I can't explain in the

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beginning of chapters because it takes up too much space so if you have any further questions or concerns you can email me: flyleaf_obsessed13 ( its a yahoo account) so hope you enjoy this chapter, the next one is the perspective of another character. buh bye :D  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

It felt unbelievably awesome being in control of an entire ship. In any other nation, I would just be a child in the eyes of most adults. But to the Fire Nation and my ship, I was their General. After those first couple of weeks, I knew that I was meant to sail. I enjoyed being on a boat, unlike some of the soldiers, and I loved the water; that was strange because I was a fire-bender, but what can I say? I was a strange person.

Though most of the soldiers and crew were men, there were a handful of women aboard; some were in the military also and some were cooks or members of the crew. And I wasn't entirely alone because I recognized a few familiar faces. Sameer's older brother, Ragav, was one of the younger soldiers, so I did have someone to talk to while on the long voyage. Many of the soldiers practiced their fighting. This was good because a lot of them had things that needed to be perfected and others needed the extra practice. It also gave me the job of coaching. They all knew that I was better than them. That was why I was their General. But it surprised me that each and every one of them respected me graciously because of that fact. So in return, I studied their moves-observed them. Pointing out their mistakes and showing them how they could be fixed. I was teaching them, making them stronger physically and mentally, so that we would be unstoppable once we reached the Earth Kingdoms.

Ragav was among the large amount of soldiers who practiced their form. I remember watching him one time. He brought his right hand out in front of him, then drew it back and punched with his left; rays of orange flames shot out into the air. He pivoted on his left foot and lifted his right leg up in a swinging motion, spreading more fire through the air from the bottom of his foot. _Pretty decent. _I observed. But Sameer's brother didn't seem pleased with himself. I could see frustration already forming in his face as he tried again. I noticed that his techniques were sharp and good, but his fire wasn't very large. It was actually kind of small. I could hear him berating himself as he kept trying to improve. Finally after struggling long enough, the boy approached me. "Sankari," he began. I had told him not to worry about titling me. "Will you please help me? My bending-it's just not right. I don't know what's wrong." Of course I would help him, I was a nice person like that. Plus, I wanted my troops to be ready and prepared for anything. "Alright," I agreed. "It looks like you're having trouble producing a nice decent sized flame, right?" The older boy nodded, all ears. "Bending is at its best when there's a good solid emotion behind it." I began my lecture, remembering lessons from my father. Wow, only twelve years old and I was beginning to sound like an old guru. Great. I pointed out past the deck of the ship. "Water-benders flow freely when bending, letting their smooth movements clear their minds. Earth-benders approach things head on and rather boldly. And the air-benders," I paused, recalling when I was told that the air nomads had all been wiped out. "Well, they were spiritual and used positive feelings to help make their air-bending successful." I explained. Ragav seemed as though he were beginning to understand.

"And us, the fire-benders, we're channel anger into our bending." I had a feeling he might conclude to that. It was tough to agree r argue with that statement. I chewed on the inside of my lip, thinking how I would break it down for me. "Well yes and no." I responded. "It is true that a good number of fire-benders use anger as the emotion to fuel their fire; that's not the only feeling you can use, though. Anger is a powerful emotion, so make a strong connection to something and you can't go wrong." I encouraged, finishing my spiel. Ragav was still processing what I said in his head. That was actually a good sign. It meant that he had listened to my whole speech and hadn't spaced out. I was grateful for that.

"I think I get it now." He smiled. Good, so I wasn't a babbling moron who didn't know what they were talking about. I spread my feet apart into a wide stance and bent my knees; my feet weren't touching but they were in line. Both of my fists were positioned on my hips, at the ready. Ragav caught on that I wanted him to do the same. I inhaled and exhaled deeply, controlling my breathing pattern. "Another major key is breathing." I added. "And a tip: think of something you know you need to do. Be determined." I suggested to him. I turned my upper body to the left. As I did so, my right arm left my side, forming a punch. In mid-punch, I conjured up a spiral flame as large as a full grown adult, and hurled it out past the waters. I held my end position for a moment, then focused my attention back on him and returned to my original stance. "Your result should be similar." But he and I both knew that there would be a big difference between his form and mine. Ragav began to breathe slowly just as I had instructed him to. His chocolate colored eyes focused onto the horizon. He twisted his top half just as I had, and executed a left handed sudo. It was evident that the boy's will was strong. The flames that sprouted from his hands were easily two times larger than before. Maybe even three times larger. Ragav's face brightened up. He looked quite proud of himself. And it made me feel good to know that I had the ability to teach. The soldier boy clasped his hands together and bowed. "That really helped. Thank you Sifu Sankari." Sifu? How many names would I be receiving on this voyage?

* * *

We are about three-fourths of the way to the Earth Kingdoms when a few unexpected things happened. I found some random chick hiding in a closet! I was making my rounds past the Captain's quarters, when I heard rapid footsteps across the floor. The passage led to a dead end and the only thing in the hallway was a broom closet. Surely nothing was in there. But of course curiosity got to me. I swore that was the very thing that was going to end up killing me in the end. Once I opened the closet, I saw a short girl trying to hide in the back of it; the closet was surprisingly deep. I wasn't the type of person who would tattle or call guards, even in a situation like this. Instead, I glared at the girl who was trying to hide her face with a mop. "You know I can see you."

"No one loves you!" Came the girl's response behind all of the cleaning supplies. I didn't know whether to laugh it off or come up with a retort of my own. Her remark was very unexpected and odd, considering the circumstances. I stood there with my hands on my hips.

"Wow, okay." I tried to keep my cool. "You can either come out or I can fire-bend your ass off this boat." I offered. "Your choice." The girl gave up after a moment and made her way over to me, head down. She had brown hair, long in the front and short and spikey in the back. Her right eye was covered by her bangs. She had green eyes-her left was visible. The girl wore a short sleeve shirt but it was layered- her arms were covered by a long sleeved shirt. Fingerless gloves were on both hands. The stow away spoke again. "Please don't rat me out." she smiled weakly at me. "I just wanted to get out of the Fire Nation." she looked innocent enough. Besides, I longed to get out of the Fire Nation as well, just for a taste of what else was out there. We had that in common. I sighed. What harm could she do anyway? She looked the same age as me, and it's not everyday you run into prodigys like Azula and me.

"Okay," I decided at last. "But you're going to have to cooperate, you can't just walk around the ship as free as you please." The girl cheered and pulled her fist down as if she were elbowing something.

"Yes!" She extended her arm out to me. "I'm Zaida." She introduced herself. I shook her hand. Oh spirits, what was I getting myself into?

Since I allowed Zaida to stay rather than turning her in, I had to cover her tracks. I found her a job in the kitchen because she claimed that she could cook. I knew that it was a slim chance that anyone aboard would automatically know that Zaida wasn't supposed to be there, but I wasn't taking any chances. Zaida was wonderful company. We hit it off right away. She almost reminded me of Mai because sometimes she had a blank expression on her face; but she was much more cheerful than Mai had ever been. Thinking of the raven haired downer, reminded me how much I missed my friends;

Ty Lee with her bubbliness. Mai's negativity and quietness was almost missed as well. But the person I missed the most was Azula. We had bonded so well after we had made peace back when we were nine. The princess was my _best _friend and I almost wished she was there to boss me around like she used to force Ty Lee, Mai and me to play certain games. I stopped myself from thinking about it; I didn't want to become depressed like Mai. I would see them all in due time. For right then, Zaida would have to do.

I stood on the top deck early one morning. Through the fog, I could make out something far out into the water. It was a dark shape probably only a few miles way. I wondered what it could possibly be. Being curious again, I instructed the Captain to steer us towards the mysterious object ahead. As we drew closer and closer, I realized that the dark shape was another vessel. In fact, it was a Fire Nation ship. I was intrigued. I wondered why another one of our boats crossed courses with us. The ship was smaller than ours but there was no mistaking it was of the Fire Nation; I recognized the style.

"Are you going to investigate?" Zaida asked, mop in hand, pretending that she was merely swabbing the deck. I was currently deciding that myself. It wasn't until we were almost on top of the other ship when I finally made up my mind. I told the Captain to to bring our vessel right up to the other one and ordered the crew to assemble the gangplank. There was now a bridge between our ship and the other one.

I took Ragav and another soldier with me as I crossed over onto the neighboring ship. Once we were across, a tall man with spikey gray hair and a beard, approached us.

"Have you come to speak with-" I cut him off.

"Yes, I'm here to pay him a visit. For sentimental reasons." I finished, curtly. I didn't feel as guilty speaking so straight forward towards adults anymore. The gray haired man honored my request and had us follow him down to the ship's quarters. The hallways were slightly narrower than on my ship but it made sense; this ship wasn't as large as mine. The man opened one of the larger room's doors and poked his head in.

"Someone to see you, sir." he informed. I heard a teenage boy's voice-one that I had longed to hear again for over a year. "What is it now?" I stepped in right after the gray haired soldier.

"It's good to see you too 'big brother'." I couldn't help but smirk. The banished prince's eyes widened in surprise. A smile grew upon his troubled face. He didn't know what to say to me, just like the time before he left for his quest. "Kari?" he gasped. We rushed over to greet one another. Another thing that I missed-Zuko's warm hugs. I turned to Iroh, who was also in the room and hugged him around his large belly.

"Hello Uncle." Though I wasn't related to Iroh, I associated him with family because he was so gentle and kind. It was as if he were my uncle and I was the niece who didn't think of him as a joke. "It's quite nice to see you, dear." Uncle Iroh beamed. "I was beginning to miss our afternoon tea time." I remembered how Iroh had told me that I was the only child that he knew of who took a liking to tea as much as I did; and it thrilled him.

"So what are you doing here?" Zuko asked, eyes full of wonder. I forgot that he did not know of my recent position. He wasn't present in the Fire Nation at that time.

"Things have changed a little since you left." I laughed, admitting the truth. "You're father made me a General." Both of their eyes grew very large once more. Zuko took note of my attire- my armor and shoulder pads similar to the ones on his uniform.

"So young?" Concern was in Iroh's wise eyes. He seemed to disagree with his brother's judgment. Zuko was in awe, but it was a good type of awe. "Your fire-bending must be legendary." Zuko boosted my ego. I nodded slightly, trying to be modest yet not too humble. "Show me."

Moments later, I was back out onto the deck demonstrating moves and new techniques I had learned. I moved both my arms in circular motions creating barrages of of flames. I threw a side-kick, sending a fire ball out into the ocean. I swung my leg through the air into a crescent-kick, flames shooing out from my foot. I kept spinning around to crescent-kicking in front of me with great speed. While performing, I noticed how washed out the orange was in my flames. Why was the color draining? Was I doing something wrong? I wanted to know. It seemed as though Zuko was thinking the same thoughts as me. He held his palm out and an orange flame rose up. "Why are your flames colorless?" he wondered. I didn't have an answer. I didn't know why. "Uncle," Zuko glanced at Iroh for an answer. "How come her fire is white?" The wise General surely would know the reason why.

"The color of one's flames reflect who they are. Inside." Uncle Iroh explained to us. "Zuko, yours are orange because you are hot blooded and consistent, like a fire. And your flames are white, Sankari, because you are still a child and are pure at heart. You are innocent and therefore, your flames have become colorless." I did not know that fire could change colors, let alone that people could change the color of your flames. Pure and innocent? How long would that last? After all, I was almost a teenager. "Sankari, I want you to be honest with me." Iroh suddenly became very serious. "Has anyone ever taught you how to bend lightning?" I was very confused. What now? Did he say lightning? How in the hell could someone bend that?

"Um, no?" I honestly replied. The large smile returned to Uncle Iroh's face. It was as if he had never asked me anything of the sort.

"Just checking." His cheesy grin was quite humorous. "Just promise me you will use your bending well and wisely." Iroh had lots of experience. I knew he was right. I promised him I would.


	13. Back Home

Okay readers, now we've come to the point in the story where the point of view will change back and forth a little. Hope you like this chapter, I found this character a little difficult to write in the perspective of, but I hope you enjoy anyway :D  
~th3rdhal3~

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**Mai's Point of View**

I didn't want Sankari to leave. A twelve year-old couldn't possibly be expected to undergo such a daunting task. I wasn't trying to be moody. I wasn't trying to be a downer. It's just that I didn't like it-the idea, that is. Sankari was a strong girl, there was no doubting that. But what if something were to happen was not in her control? What would happen then? The burden of responsibility so large should not have been placed on the shoulders of a girl, still so young. But I kept my mouth shut. How could I share my concerns with her when I wasn't allowed to express my feelings? Besides, the orphaned girl was happy, and that was what was most important.

Shortly after Sankari departed on her mission, Azula and I stumbled upon Ty Lee packing a large duffel bag in her room. The little girl was not aware that we were so near, and she jumped at the sudden sound of Azula's voice. "Ty Lee, what do you think you're doing?" Our aura-loving friend zipped up the bag quickly and turned to face the two of us. She looked a little suspicious. Ty Lee glanced at us nervously at first, trying to make some type of story up. Once that failed, the bubbly acrobat broke down in tears.

"I wanted to tell you both, really." She explained through sobs. "B-But I couldn't bring myself to, and then Kari was leaving and-" I held the little girl buy the shoulders.

"Ty, what is it?" I meant to be as gentle as possible while still trying to force it out of her. If we didn't stop her, Ty Lee would've spoken a whole novel to us. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm running away." Both Azula and I gaped open mouthed at our small friend. "To the circus. I think it's my calling." Ty Lee attempted a weak smile as she sniffled. No. We were losing another. Why Ty, why? "My parents wouldn't even notice if I was missing." she cried while we held her. That couldn't have been true. I wanted to tell her that this was crazy and that she should go unpack right away, but the little girl seemed _happy_ with this decision of hers. I realized that if we made Ty Lee stay here with us, she'd be miserable. The girl could hardly sit still for more than two minutes for Agni's sake. She needed to be somewhere where she could express herself and her talents. I didn't know of anyone who was more flexible or acrobatic than our little Ty Lee. Yes, we would let her go, but it wouldn't be easy.

"Are you sure, Ty Lee?" Azula held the girl's small hands in her own. Traces of sorrow could be found in her eyes. Ty Lee brushed her bangs out of her face and smiled wryly. "Yes, Azula. This is what I want." Tears filled her eyes once more. "I'll miss you and Mai...and Kari too." That night was the closest the three of us had ever been before. Azula began to cry too and surprisingly I felt water running down my own cheeks. Our quartet was, indeed, breaking up. I had no idea what was to come next.

* * *

Though Azula and I still had each other to keep one another company, it was still pretty lonely without Sankari and Ty Lee. The princess seemed more on edge than she usually was; not a good thing-especially for her. It was odd, but Sankari was one of the few that could keep Azula at bay. She and Ty Lee were the kinds of people that could cheer up others just by being around them. But each of them had their own way of being that type of person. Sankari didn't over do it, unlike Ty Lee-no offense to her; that was the reason why Azula was normally calm relaxed whenever she hung out with her. Despite her crankiness, I decided to help out the troubled princess. We couldn't have too depressed girls in our group, could we now?

"So why is it that you've sunk down into this deep blue funk?" I asked, pencil in hand. I figured that the only way to get through to her was to have a good 'ol therapy session. The princess stared at me as if I were wearing a pink tutu and performing some sort of native dance.

"What do you think this is?" she barked. I answered as plain as day.

"A therapy session." To me, that was a no-brainer. Why else would I have shown interest into why she was acting the way she was?

"Mai, all you did was move the couch and chair to the center of the room and put up a tarp to hide the rest of your crap." She glanced around the setting. Hey, it wasn't as if I had my own office or anything, so I had to improvise a little bit. And to be honest, I wasn't super creative.

"Your point?" I stroked the long black hair that hung down on my left shoulder. Azula sat there in silence, contemplating whether or not her point was valid. I gave her the usual glare I did whenever she was being unruly or difficult. The princess pouted, sticking her bottom lip out. It might have worked with daddy but not with me.

"Fine." She folded her arms and leaned back on the couch. She began to tell me her whole life story. "...And then Zuko _had _to be the favorite of our mother and then-"

"Azula," I stopped her. "I asked what was bothering you lately, not for you to tell me everything about your life from day one." I messaged my temples. Maybe I didn't exactly have the patience to be doing this sort of thing in the first place.

"But isn't that what you're here for?" Azula looked a little bit confused. "To listen to me vent and rant on and on?" I sighed a little louder than necessary. This one needed serious work on. Yeah, I probably should have re-thought the whole therapist idea before following through. Smart one, Mai. "To vent yes, but that's not what the entire session is for." I explained, trying not to let it be known that I was slightly irritated. "Just answer me this: Why have you been so moody these last few months?" I mean, I knew every woman had their time of the month, but come on!

"I think it began after Kari left." Azula started. That was about five months ago, almost to the date. "I miss her like crazy- she's my best friend." That was, indeed, true. Sankari got along with Azula better than Ty Lee and I did, surprisingly. "We were always doing something stupid to get ourselves in trouble, and I miss that." she laughed. I thought back to a countless number of times when the four of us were causing trouble and the instigator was normally Sankari. Those were fun times, and even I wished we could relive them. Azula had her right hand pressed into the side of her face as she stared off into space. "And her disorder," she continued. "where she said and did stuff without realizing it, that was cute." Dust my ears deceive me? I glanced up from my pad of paper to see a smiling princess on the couch. Noticing that I was staring at her with great interest now, she stammered for words. "Humorous!" She corrected herself quickly. "I meant humorous." Had I stumbled onto to something there? Azula had blushed once she realized what she had said out loud. I couldn't quite tell for sure. Only time could tell. Azula changed the subject slightly. "And then Ty Lee ran off to go join the freak-house-"

"Circus." I corrected, making it clear that I did not think my peppy friend was a freak. She was just able to do things that the average person wasn't able to do.

"Yes, that. And it feels like everyone's leaving me." Azula frowned. "I mean, I know you're still here Mai, but no offense, you're pretty depressing." So I had been told..._many _times before. So many times that I had lost count, in fact.

"None taken." I assured her while I scribbled notes across the pad of paper in my hand. I had a decent amount written already, and was honestly surprised that the princess shared as much as she did. But Azula wasn't finished.

"And on top of that, I've been struggling with my training." Her father had removed her from the group she and Sankari had been learning with when she was a preteen. She had had been learning privately from two teachers ever since. "Sometimes I don't understand the routines, and then my forms aren't always perfect; my teachers are two old as hell ladies who speak in sync and they don't even fire-bend!" The overwhelmed girl slouched forward, letting her finger tips touch the floor. "I just feel so stressed out." she sighed, sitting back on the couch properly. She had a right to be; she was going through a lot. I actually kind of felt sorry for her.

"Okay, now that we know what's been bugging you, we'll start going into detail on the subjects more next session." I decided, wrapping things up for that day. I could only handle so much Azula at one time. The girl seemed to understand. She even seemed more relaxed than she did prior to our discussion.

"Thanks Mai." Azula said sincerely as she headed for the door. I scanned the notes I had taken for a brief moment.

"No problem." I set them down. "Oh, and by the way, that will be ten gold pieces." I held out my hand. I n a flash, Azula's temper came back. But it was bound to happen sooner or later.

"What?" she went off on me, once I gave her my price. Hey, I had to make a living too you know. I wasn't going to rely on my father's political position forever. "You're not even a real therapist!" Ouch. I thought I was decent enough. "And besides, I'm your friend _and _your princess!" she hollered. I placed my thumb and index finger on my chin as I began to mull it over. "Fifteen gold pieces?" I shrugged. Azula growled, stomping out of the room in the most exaggerate, dramatic way possible.

"See if I ever confide in you again!" Oh, but she would. Though I hated it sometimes, I was a pretty damn good listener. That was one of my good traits, not that I had many. It was me, who we were talking about here. I called after the moody girl already halfway to her room. "Okay, I'll just put that on your charge then." Sankari had better hurry her ass back.


	14. I Discover Myself

Thanks for reading guys, and of course I'm going to keep updating. I will let you all know when the story is close to an end, but that's not any time soon, so don't worry. I love late arrival days- I get to post stuff in the morning! :D enjoy!  
~th3rdhal3~

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In a matter of months, my troops had taken over nearly half of the villages on the South Western Border. There were already groups of Fire Nation soldiers already stationed in the Earth Kingdom; I had them recruited in with my soldiers. I left behind fifteen to twenty of them in each town we dominated. I made sure that at least half of them were fire-benders in case the villagers tried to rebel. But there was one Earth Kingdom town that I did not conquer entirely.

Zaida wanted to go explore and check out the town before I ordered my soldiers to run it to the ground. I also wanted to see what it was like myself; but I couldn't just waltz around in my Fire Nation General clothes. Already, people knew who I was. And I wouldn't doubt it if the Northern part of the Earth Kingdom received word of me. Not to brag, but I was kickin' ass and taking name. I found some ragged looking clothes in the bottom of my trunk in my quarters. They were pretty simple; the shirt was long sleeved, beige and brown as well as the pants. These would work perfectly. I could blend in just like any average Earth Kingdom citizen. Zaida didn't have to worry about a costume change. She didn't dress like a traditional Fire Nation girl. For all anyone knew, she could have lived all her life in the Earth Kingdom.

"Come on, Kari." Zaida was already psyched to go. I hobbled after her, cramming my feet into one of the most uncomfortable pairs of shoes ever to be created. After discovering that my feet would not fit in all the way, I threw the shoes to the ground and followed Zaida barefoot. But being barefoot worked to my advantage; I looked more like a commoner now. We approached the town around sunset. The dim light would hide our features more in case anyone where to recognize us...well, me. Zaida had nothing to worry about. She was not an all-powerful General.

Even an hour before dusk, many people were still out, mingling in the streets and buying goods. My 'radar' went off when I caught wind of steaks cooking in the window of one of the shops. "Zaida!" I was literally jumping up and down. It was so pathetic how excited I'd become over something as simple as meat. "They have meat!" The shorter, but wiser girl rolled her eyes and stifled a laugh. She tossed a small purple coin bag to me and I stalked off towards the guy selling steaks.

As the two of us walked around, I felt different. I felt happy. Well it obviously wasn't the first time, but I felt genuinely happy, as if nothing could go wrong. I didn't know why that was at first. Was I enjoying being a kid again? Was it because I didn't have any responsibility at the time? But then I took a look at the bigger picture; this was my homeland. My _true _homeland. Though I spent the majority of my life in the Fire Nation, my roots traced back to the Earth Kingdom. Maybe that was why I was in such a good mood. I most likely had some type of mental or emotional connection to this place. Zaida and I continued our scoping of the village when we began to pass a dark alley way. There was an older, scruffy looking man leaning against one of the walls. I felt for the poor being. I forgot that poverty was a real thing. In the Fire Nation there wasn't much of it at all, but apparently, it existed elsewhere. I tossed the coin bag to his feet and smiled courteously at him. I was just about to turn my head and continue on, when I received the shock of my life. If I had just pursued onward, things might have went differently for me after that day.

"Helping old beggars?" The old man's voice was rough and and gravely. "Aren't you above that now, Sankari?" I froze, a tingling feeling working its way up my spine. No. I had been discovered; the old geezer knew who I was. He'd probably go to the authorities of the town any minute now. But all I could do was stare at him with wonder. Just how did he know me? "I know a Fire Nation child when I see one. But you are not really from the Fire Nation, are you?" The question was rhetorical. I could see it in his charcoal eyes. How in Agni did he know that?

"You don't know me." I bit back, trying not to lose my cool. It was probably a lucky guess. People all over the Earth Kingdom knew of the notorious General Sankari; they might have even thrown in a description. My disguise must not have been very good.

"Don't believe me?" The old man laughed, showing off some gold teeth. Hygiene was definitely an issue there. Of course I didn't believe him. He was elderly beggar-probably a raving lunatic as well. The old man placed his right hand over his heart. "I swear on the spirit of Hiroku Tsong." My heart pounded. My father's name. This wasn't just a coincidence. I knew then, that this man must have had some sort of spiritual knowledge. How else would he know so much about me? I had never seen this him before in my life. The ragged old, soothsayer brushed the dirt off of his ratty clothes and beckoned for me and only me to come closer. I gave Zaida an uncertain look and she agreed to remain at the mouth of the alley. I had never been in the presence of someone who possessed unnatural knowledge, and I wasn't quite sure if I truly wanted to listen to him or not. Curiosity, however, drew me in once more.

"Tell me more about my father." I thought I knew just everything about him, but maybe I didn't. The man sat there pondering; trying to decide what he would reveal to me. That made me wonder about how much I _didn't _know about my father.

"His family died, like yours, only not in the same way. Your father's mother grew ill and died when he was just about your age." The old man pointed a bony finger at me. "His father was I the military as well. He died fighting, just like your father." Like father like son. Did that mean that I was doomed to the same fate? The soothsayer could sense my uncertainty. "Oh no, your end won't be the same as theirs." That made me feel slightly better. "Though you do take after your father." he remarked. Many in the Fire Nation had made me aware of that fact as well. I guessed that I had picked up his personality and mannerisms. "Strong-willed, brave, courageous. Yes indeed, you are very much like him. But your fate will not be his. No, I will not. I know a great deal about you, young lady." He smiled another toothy grin. I was very intrigued by then. I knew that it wasn't a scam. The old man had an amazing gift and I wanted to know more. "Your destiny will change in due time my dear." What did he mean? Did I even have a destiny? I wasn't sure. "You are extremely talented and more powerful than you now realize. Two trees grow in a conflicted forest. Which one will you climb? That is the question." What in merkatroid was he talking about? Maybe I had been right about him being a lunatic. That didn't even make sense! Was he senile? The old man had to have known that I was thoroughly confused but instead of doing the nice thing and explaining, he carried on. "Once you return home, seek the ancient text of the great beast. It is pure, just, and true. Only one in every hundred years allows it to envelope their mind and body." Alright, I was completely lost. He had me back at the 'your destiny will change' part. I just could not understand what he was trying to tell me. The beggar man's expression changed into one of surprise. He eyes me cautiously, reading my soul most likely. I was not ready for what I would learn next.

"You don't know," he began. "who you are?" he seemed to almost be in disbelief. I shrugged, not quite clear on what he was asking.

"General Sankari." I guessed. That was my name and title after all. The look on the old man's face did not let up. He seemed very bewildered about the fact that he knew something and I didn't. I could feel the tension rushing through my veins. What was he going on about? I wanted to know. I _needed_ to know.

"No." The old man shook his head. He seemed worries now. I was a little frustrated then. What in the hell was the old coot saying? I was at the point where I wanted to rip my hair out, though I could never destroy my luscious locks.

"I am Sankari Tsong." I stated, confidently and pretty irritated. "I am a member of the Fire Nation-"

"No!" The soothsayer interrupted me. He looked me dead in the eyes. "You are not a true citizen of the Fire Nation." I already knew that though. "You are a descendant of the Earth Kingdom." Descendant? What was he getting at? The old man relaxed a little and laughed dryly. " I am not sure how you managed to do it, but you did." Do what? What had I managed to do? "Dear child, you were never meant to be taken in by the Fire Nation." The pounding of my heart grew rapidly then. "You were not even meant to fire-bend." What? Me not fire-bending? Why that was like me not having an addiction to meat! I wasn't liking what I heard so far. But the worst was yet to come. "You are not who you think you are." The old man continued. "You are not Sankari of the Fire Nation. You are of the Earth Kingdom. Your name is Karuna, and you were and are meant to be," the slightest hesitation was on the verge of making me go mad. His last words pierced through my soul. "an _earth-bender._"

I could feel the pulsing of my blood in every part of my body. My heat was pounding so heavily that I feared it might tear right out of my chest. No. It couldn't be. It couldn't! I shook my head. I shook it faster and faster until realization came over me; I was bold and headstrong. In the presence of nature was where I was at peace. I was thick-headed and did not listen to reason at times. And lastly, I walked barefoot everywhere I went. Ever since I was little, I had known that there was something different about me. I just didn't know it would be something this big. I stood there, gawking at the man in pure denial. I didn't know what to do. Everything I knew was wrong. I backed away from the soothsayer. A concerned look in the darkness was the last glimpse I saw of him. I was shaking with anxiety and I kept stepping back, slightly faster every so many paces.

"Kari, what's wrong?" Zaida was leaned against the opening of the alley. Her green eyes displayed a worried emotion. She could plainly see fright written all over my face. I needed to get away. From there, from that town, from everything. I did the only thing that I could do. I turned on my tail and ran. I ran away from it all like a coward.


	15. I Meet the FF

Sorry it took soo long you guys. School sucks!  
~th3rdhal3~

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_You're dreaming. This isn't reality. You've fallen into the depths of your mind. But it's all true isn't it? You've known it all along. No, this isn't real. It's all a figment of your imagination. Is it though? No, this shall pass-like everything else. These things were meant to try you-to bring you down. This is nothing but a mere nightmare. Wake up dammit! _

My foot drove into the center of the tree that stood about four feet away from me. The edges of the hole were black and scorched, signifying that it had been burned. I turned on my heals and swung my arm down in a chopping motion. Another branch was stricken down. If I kept going on my rampage, I would have single-handedly destroyed the entire forest in which I was in. My emotions were a helpless wreck; no longer swimming together in harmony but pooling out all at once. I was confused, hurt and in denial. Why didn't my father tell me more about myself? Did he think by hiding it that he'd be protecting me? I was angry at him now. I screamed up to the heavens. "Is there anything about my life that isn't a lie?" I was done being kept in the dark about my life. I wanted answers. "Tell me it was all a lie!" I hollered, almost expecting a response. I could feel a powerful energy stirring inside of me. It was flowing through my veins, begging to be let out. I firmly planted my feet a good three feet away from each other. I moved my arms around me wildly in a sacred bending formation. I always performed better in a bad mood. I could feel the power tingling in my hands, ready at my command. "Tell me it was a all a big fucking lie!" I screamed at the sky. I watched in awe as blue streaks rolled off of my fingertips, lighting up the sky in vibrant flashes, crackling loudly across the horizon. The aftermath of the raw energy caused me to slump to the ground. I couldn't move for a few moments. Holy shit. _Holy Shit! _I had just created lightning.

Just then, a forceful breeze kicked in, blowing my hair in every which direction. The leaves of the trees rustled loud and violently. What was happening? Spirits, what had I done? Fear seeped into my soul as I crawled backwards into the trunk of a tree. A chill ran down my spine- an indication of spiritual presence.

"I never meant to hurt you, my daughter." My father's voice seemed to come from everywhere. At first I thought I was hallucinating. I thought it was because I was weak and unstable. But it was the exact opposite. I had heard him, and moments later, I was staring face to face with him. His image was hazy and his silhouette was outlined in blue. Spirits were described like so in many stories and legends that I had heard when I was a young child. My father appeared just as he had the day he left four years ago; still wearing his Fire Nation General uniform. It almost hurt to see him again. " I had your best interest at heart." His spirit began to explain to me. "I never wanted you to feel unwanted or shunned in the Fire Nation. That is why I disregarded your true heritage. It was wrong, yes, but I need you to understand why I did so." My anger died as quickly as it came. I did not have any more resentment towards him. "I failed you, and for that, I am sorry. I love you, Sankari." Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I saw the sorrow in my deceased father's eyes.

"I love you too, Dad." I whispered into the night. His image slowly began to fade into the darkness.

"You have been blessed with many gifts, use them well." Then he was gone. I was left alone in the dark with only myself and my thoughts. I felt...enlightened, in a way. No longer did I feel hate nor denial. I was at peace of mind for the time being. But my father was wrong; He had taught me almost everything I could possibly learn, and I was going to use the knowledge as best as I could. He hadn't failed me, he just left a little sooner than planned.

* * *

"Where in the fudge were you?" Zaida interrogated me as soon as I got back to camp later the next day. I shrugged, groggy and tired.

"Destroying stuff." Was I too specific? She put her hands on her hips and gave me a stern stare. "What?"

"You know, that's not a very good outlet." She scolded. Like I cared, but I really didn't want to elaborate on the debate at that time. I was way too tired. The episode last night drained the heck out of me, and I was in need of a nice long deserved nap. "Don't get too comfy," Zaida warned as I lay down on the spare sleeping bag by the campfire. "You're coming with me to go buy some Oregano in town." I sat up again and gave her a peculiar glance.

"We're getting who now?"

"Oregano," Zaida repeated, flipping through pages of her book. "It's a seasoning." I nodded my head and flopped down on the make-shift bed. Nap-time for me. "That's nice." I commented, closing my eyelids. Withing minutes, I was out like a light.

Zaida and I went into town the next day. After I went down for my nap the previous night, there had been no hope of waking me up. I decided to fill her in on what had happened the other night, as I helped her search for her seasoning. "...And then the old bat tells me that I'm an earth-bender!" I whispered loudly. I still could not believe what the beggar had told me.

"Are you?" Zaida asked, scanning the shops for Oregano, yet also trying to follow our conversation. I shook my head.

"Well," I paused. "Actually I don't know. I haven't tried." I admitted. I realized that I had no proof that I was or wasn't an earth-bender.

Eventually, my odd, little friend found what she was looking for in a spice shop. Zaida paid with copper coins as my attention drifted elsewhere. My troops had already started taking over the village. Two soldiers had custody over a small boy wearing a helmet. He protested as they began to drag him off somewhere. What did they want with him? What could the little boy possibly have done to get himself in trouble with my soldiers. Just then, and older boy came into the scene. He had a full head of brown hair and shoulder pads on his purple and red shirt.

"Cut him some slack, he's just a kid." The taller boy tried reasoning with one of the soldiers. Bad move on his part. He was struck in the face by the military official and some choice words followed. My stomach churned. That wasn't right. Why were they bullying the two boys? I was sure that they had done nothing wrong. The older boy regained his composure and went for the soldier who had hit him. He returned the strike, but the other soldier grabbed the boy with the shoulder pads and rammed his fist into his stomach. The boy doubled over. My teeth sunk into my bottom lip. I felt anger. I began to understand. _My people..._they were being treated like livestock, scum even. There was no way that I could stand by. But what could I do? Order my soldiers to stand down? A Fire Nation General wouldn't give a damn about two Earth Kingdom kids. No, that wouldn't work. Sankari wouldn't be able to help them...but Karuna would.

I turned to Zaida. "I know this is crazy and stupid, but follow me and we'll see how this plays out." I didn't wait for her reaction, I _took _action. I ruffled my hair and made my bangs in my face so that it concealed my identity. Then, I charged towards where the commotion was coming from. _I hope this works, _I prayed. I channeled all of my focus into that one moment. My heart pounded as I bounded into the air. I slammed my foot onto the ground. Instantly, the ground started to ripple, sending one of the soldiers airborne. I slid my left foot forward, causing a block of earth to rise up quickly and knock the second soldier off his feet. "We've gotta get out of here!" I glanced at the two boys. The olderboy grabbed my hand while the younger boy ran after us with Zaida.

"Come on, this way!" The tall boy shouted as the four of us nuisances fled the scene and into the shelter of the trees. We kept running with them until they deemed it safe and stopped. The older boy was panting. "You just saved our necks," he laughed. "Thanks. But didn't the Fire Nation capture all of the earth-benders?" That much I knew was true. We had rounded up as many of the earth-benders we could find and stationed them somewhere isolated where they couldn't do any harm.

"I guess not all of 'em." I replied wittily. The boy extended his arm towards me. He nodded his head to the smaller boy who looked about nine years-old tops. "That's The Duke, and I'm Jet." Damn it. What was I going to say: 'I am General Sankari, now beat it brats before they realize that I just attacked my own soldiers?'. Hell no. I grasped his hand and shook it.

"Karuna." I wasn't lying, but I also wasn't being entirely truthful either. Zaida must have understood and I silently thanked her for not blowing my cover.

"And I'm Zaida!" My friend announced while doing a front-walk-over. Spirits, it was just like having Ty Lee with me, only not annoying and slightly stranger. The two boys found it amusing though, so it wasn't all that bad.

"So are you guys from around here?" Jet asked us as we followed him and The Duke through the forest. I didn't have a good answer, but luckily Zaida was there to help.

"We're actually from Ba Sing Se. We've been traveling with family and friends around." That girl was good. I was glad that I had become friends with her. Jet seemed intrigued.

"Really? I've always heard about the capital city. Is it really as great as they say it is?" A huge smile was on Zaida's face.

"Even more so! And there are no _Fire _Nation soldiers there either." She thew me a glance from up ahead. I glared at her. What was she doing? Trying to piss me off? Jet looked at the two of us, chewing on a piece of straw. He seemed a bit confused. "She doesn't mind the Fire Nation." Zaida continued. "She thinks they're actually _helping_ the good of the world." I wanted to strangle her there and then. I take back what I had said earlier. She was a pain in the ass sometimes. The Duke glanced up at me with big eyes, as if he couldn't believe that I didn't despise the Fire Nation. Well that was pretty hard to do, seeing as how I grew up as a Fire Nation kid. Not an Earth Kingdom kid. Jet broke the awkward silence. "It makes sense why you would think that, Karuna." It did? "You've probably lived in Ba Sing Se so long that you've never seen the impact they've done on other towns. They destroy every breath of hope we have. They control our daily lives-they burn down our villages."

"But that's only if the people rebel." I interjected. I didn't want to fight him on this, but I still couldn't tolerate others slamming the nation I had grown up in for so many years.

"And do you know why they rebel?" Jet asked, hacking through a thick brush with a curved stick. "They don't want the Fire Nation; all they bring are violence and tyranny. No one wants to live in a world like that." That shut me up. There was nothing more I could say. The conversation was indeed over. The Duke approached me and tugged on my sleeve. "Don't take it personal," His mid-alto voice rang in my ears. "Jet's had it hard you see. The Fire Nation destroyed his home when he was young." The story was quite similar to mine. He and I both had been orphaned. As equals, I should have understood where he was coming from. I should have, and I did.

Jet stopped in front of a very large tree with yellow leaves. It seemed as though he was searching through the branches. A moment later, he pulled out two golden handle-hoops attached to wire. "We can go up two at a time." He said. Go up? What were we doing now? Jet grasped the handle and grabbed a hold of me. "Hang on tight." he instructed. I did as he said, not knowing what to expect. He pulled on the handle, and all of a sudden we were ascending. The ground seemed very far away the higher we went. Zaida and The Duke were right behind us only a few feet away. Zaida appeared as if she were having the time of her life. I even admitted that it was fun. Eventually, we landed on a large wooden platform, overlooking what looked like an entire civilization built up in the trees. I couldn't keep myself from gasping in astonishment. "Welcome to the hideout of the Freedom Fighters!"

"I left these here thinking that I wouldn't need them." Jet handled two hook swords that had been laying around his room. He had saved his 'house' for last in the grand tour. "I thought that I was going about things all wrong; I thought that maybe if I used my words and reasoned with the Fire Nation, then maybe there wouldn't be a need for violence." He swung the swords around in great formation. He used both the right and the left equally. "But after today, they proved that I had been right from the start. They're nothing but power-hungry tyrants." He frowned, closing his eyes. I had to admit, we did tend to be a violent and forceful nation, but in my heart I knew that there were good people; Zuko, Uncle Iroh, my father. And as weird as it was to say it, even Azula.

"Will you join?" Huh? I snapped back to focus and looked up at Jet. "Will you join the Freedom Fighters?" My mind raced. Oh spirits, what would I do? He was asking me to betray the nation that I had known for so long. I knew that I was different since I was little. I knew there was something special about me. But now that I knew what it was, I wasn't sure I liked the fact that I was. The Fire Nation was the only home I've known, but the Earth Kingdom was were I belonged. My people were in peril. They were losing this war. How could I turn my back on them either?

I instantly remembered what Zuko had said to me before he departed on his journey: "It is my destiny to capture the avatar." Destiny. That word kept appearing and reappearing in my mind. Was this my destiny? To become the exact opposite of what I was brought up to be? The more I couldn't believe it, the more I knew it was true. This _was _my destiny. The Fire Nation were wrong. There had to be a better way to spread their ideas and wealth. They couldn't take over the world-not like this at least. It would be hard, but somehow I knew that this path would not be easy. I looked at Zaida. I knew that she would support me in whichever choice I made, but she and I both knew what needed to be done. I had to join Jet. I had to make a stand. These people needed me and I was not going to abandon them. I was already separated from my nation once, and I wouldn't let it happen again. After this, I would never be the same again. "Count me in, Jet." I declared, confidently and willingly. Zaida smiled approvingly at me, and announced her decision as well. "I'm for it too." He smiled widely and raised one of his swords into the air. I had done the right thing. But was it the smart thing? Only time would tell. Right now, the important thing was making a difference in the world.

"Welcome, official members of the Freedom Fighters." Jet knighted us with the swords. That word, it meant so much. It had been something rarely used in my vocabulary..._freedom._


	16. Something Unexpected

Again, I'm sooo sorry for the wait. School is being extremely cruel with assignments and projects ;p I should have another chapter by tomorrow or Monday! Hope you enjoy!  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

Over the next so many months, Zaida and I went on conquests with the Freedom Fighters. By day I was Sankari, proud Fire Nation General. But by night I was Karuna, earth-bending protector of the Earth Kingdom. It was easy to come up with plans and ideas of how to make the soldiers' lives miserable, but it was hard carrying out those plans. I was only able to fight with the Freedom Fighters half or less of the time, because I had to be General with my troops. During daytime attacks, we staged it so that I was fighting against them, but we planned it perfectly so it always appeared as if they got away from me or that I had been outsmarted somehow. I'll admit that it was unsettling going against the nation that I had dwelt in for so long. Jet told me to think of the small attacks and sabotages as high level pranks. That helped me a lot at first. But soon, I didn't need to pretend that they were something else. The Fire Nation was wrong; everything that I had believed in up to that point had been wrong. They needed to be stopped.

I learned that I was pretty good with a broadsword. My father had taught me how to use a number of weapons. I never expected that I'd use that knowledge because of my bending. I practiced with Jet who was also familiar in the art of Kenpo. According to him, I was really good. "Damn, I've got two and you're makin' me sweat!" He complimented on my skill. Even with his two hook swords, I had him working hard to defend himself. Longshot attempted to teach me how to shoot and arrow with precision and accuracy. I was only okay at that. It wasn't one of my best skills. For whatever reason, I had a hard time aiming the arrow and shooting in a mannerly time. Zaida eventually pulled me away from the weaponry and helped me work on things that would be more crucial to my bending abilities.

Acrobatics was what she had in mind. I'd admitted that the first thing that came to mind was the Pink Ninja- yes, Ty Lee swinging down from the rafters even...in spandex...for some odd reason...Ty Lee and taught me how to properly do cartwheels and round-offs, so those were covered. But those were just basics. And besides, I wouldn't use those moves in intense combat; I could see it then, 'the cartwheel of doom.' Very intimidating. Wouldn't want to get taken by surprise with that attack. The first thing we worked on was flexibility. I stretched with Zaida every morning, sometimes waking up at dawn, and every evening too. The main focus was gaining flexibility in my legs. Within approximately four weeks, I was able to perform the splits practically flawlessly. I could do them on the drop of a dime if I had to.

After that, we focused on tumbling. Before she taught me anything complicated, Zaida showed me how to do both front and back hand springs. I needed to build more muscle in my arms because front and back hand springs required a decent amount of upper body strength. I made myself do 30-40 pull-ups each day, on branches that were a good six feet high on trees. I also flattened my stomach by doing 100 crunches a day plus all of the cardiovascular activity in which we all partook in. In just a few short months, I had built myself up nicely. If I was going to be quick, agile and deadly, I was going to need a good build. Zaida and I both gained muscle during that time period.

* * *

After a series of evening workouts, I was approached by one of my Lieutenants by the campfire. "General Sankari." Lieutenant Oda addressed me formally. "We have fully taken control over this town." The only reason we had stayed in the village as long as we did was because of Zaida, myself and the rest of the Freedom Fighters.

"Yeah, no thanks to the brats." I remarked to myself, but loud enough for him to hear. If I talked negatively about the Freedom Fighters, then nobody would suspect that I was one of them.

"Yes, and actually we've come to the end of our assignment. The Firelord only ordered us to seize the villages on the South Western Border." Oda continued, holding up a map that marked the areas which we had conquered. "This was the last town on the map. Our work here is done. I think it is time for us to return home." Home. The word seemed to fill me up with a warm sensation. But then it suddenly went cold. My definition of home wasn't the same as it once had been. Though a part of remained loyal to the Fire Nation, the rest of me stayed faithful to the Earth Kingdom-my true home. I couldn't leave.

"I see, Lieutenant." I responded. "When is the desired departure."

"Three days, I believe." Only three? That wasn't enough time. No, not nearly enough. Suddenly, I didn't want to leave. I wanted to remain in the Earth Kingdom forever. How could I go back to the Fire Nation after it had screwed me up as a child? At such a young age, I knew so much about war. It was almost sickening. How could I go back, after flat out denying my loyalty to it? How could I return? I realized that I was spacing out and I refocused.

"That sounds fair." Fair my ass. "Have everyone start repacking and gradually load the ship. By the time we're ready to leave, everything will be ready to go." Lieutenant Oda bowed to me, then retreated.

"Yes General." Three days. That was going to be a problem.

I immediately told Zaida what was going on. I wanted to clue her in and possibly see if she had any idea of what to do. "Bad news." She placed her book down on her lap and listened to what I had to say. "We're leaving in three days." Her first reaction was, 'what?' And she jumped up from her spot against a tree trunk. I guessed that she was partial to the Earth Kingdom as well. "What do we do?" She calmed down a bit, then thought long and hard about the question.

"We have to tell Jet." She finally decided. Whoa whoa. Wait. Tell him what? That we were Fire Nation? "We have to let him know that we're going away." she clarified. That made more sense. Hold up. We _were_leaving?

"Hold on." I stopped her. "We're not staying?" I thought that we'd at least put a little more thought into our decision. "Can't I just fake my death so that they'll return all sad and depressed without me?" I whined. Hey, I liked my ideas. They were short, sweet, and to the point. Only problem, they lacked a lot of planning.

"We can't stay here forever. Especially not you. And no, that won't work, Kari. You're an important General, someone like you wouldn't just die all of a sudden-even if we make it look as realistic as possible." Zaida explained. "Besides, you have people who care about you in the Fire Nation. It would kill them to know that you were dead, even if you weren't really. Think about Mai, think of Ty Lee. Even the royal pain in the ass herself." I laughed as Zaida referred to Azula. Spirits, how I had missed that crazy woman. "And your old care-taker; Li Ann, right? She's probably be devastated." She did have a point. Faking my own death would only hurt the ones that I cared about. "We'll just tell Jet that our family travels a lot. But we can still help the Freedom Fighters once we get back home." I listened, curiously. Just what did Zaida mean by this? "We can actually make this work to our advantage. Just hear me out; for the past six months, we've been trying to sabotage and stop the Fire Nation from taking control of the whole Earth Kingdom. Well, what better way to do this than to be in the Fire Nation itself?" The light bulb went on in my head. Oh, what and idea! This girl was almost crazier than Azula, and that's saying something. The idea would, without a doubt, be very risky. If caught, we'd most likely receive the death penalty.

"So you're saying that we'll take down the Fire Nation from the inside out?" The sheer brilliance was almost too much. It was completely insane, yes, but brilliant nonetheless.

"Exactly." Zaida grinned deviously.

We snuck out that night to go to the hideout. Normally, it would've taken us a lot longer to find the rings in the trees if we hadn't snuck out nearly every night for 30 some weeks. We were pros at finding the rings hidden in the tree leaves. "Weeee!" Zaida exclaimed as we ascended into the treetops. What a goof. Once we reached the platform, we could see Jet lounging around by a fire a few trees away. Longshot and Smellerbee were with him. As we approached, Jet jumped to his feet. "Hey girls," he smiled. "What's up?" He obviously didn't know why we had come. Smellerbee lay on her back with her arms cradling the back of her head.

"Pop a squat." She glanced at the open space around the fire. I wished that I could do just that. How I wished that I could just forget about everything. If only there was no conflict, I could join them with no worries. I wanted to be with the Freedom Fighters forever. But Zaida and I didn't come to just sit around.

"Jet, can we talk to you?" The boy's smile wavered and was replaced by a more serious expression once he saw the solemn looks on our faces. The three of us walked a few meters away from the fire to a more private and secluded spot.

"What is it? Is something wrong?" he asked. I sighed, searching for words. Though I had started to plan out what I was going to say on the way to the hideout, I realized that there would be no easy way to break it to him.

"We would have told you sooner if we had more warning, honestly we would." I began. "We're leaving in three days." His eyes widened in disbelief. "We just found about this." That part wasn't a lie, but I still felt bad that we had to hide so much from him and the other Freedom Fighters. The look in his eyes was heartbreaking. He probably thought that we were abandoning him. I suddenly felt horrible. But before I could say anything to comfort him, Zaida interjected.

"We'll still support you 100 percent, Jet. And we'll always be Freedoms Fighters." She reassured him. Jet looked at the ground. His face was now somber.

"But you're leaving." His voice lacked volume and confidence for the first time. I had never seem him show remorse before.

"We can still help the cause." Zaida continued. Jet's ears perked up, and he now seemed intrigued. "We're traveling to Roku's island. Our family has some sort of odd obsession with the past avatar." She rolled her eyes. I thought that it was a good impromptu story. "We'll be so close tho the Fire Nation homeland, that we'd be able to find out what their next moves would be. We can warn you if anything gets intense so that you can pass an alarm out to the rest of the Earth Kingdom." Wow. Great plan. Only one thing; how were we supposed to communicate with him from all the way in the Fire Nation? Jet was one step ahead of me.

"But how will we keep in touch if you both will be that far away?" Zaida made a face and remained quiet. Apparently she hadn't thought that part through yet. Damn it. We had almost nailed that one. Then, out of nowhere, me of all people, came up with a solution.

"I can get a hold of a messenger hawk. We can write back and forth. It won't be intercepted if it was the Fire Nation symbol on it. No one will think anything of it." The smile returned to Jet's face.

"That's a really good idea." He praised me. Of course it was a good idea. Unlike all of my other ones, this one actually had a chance at succeeding. "Alright, that's what we'll do. You two will be our 'ears on the inside.'" Jet agreed to our plan. "But until then, let's make the most of it."

We made the last days we spent in the Earth Kingdom count. It was easier to sneak away from camp then because the soldiers were busy moving back and forth to load the ship. The Duke wanted us to play one more round of capture the flag before Zaida and I had to go. Our version of it wasn't just a game. It was war strategy. Jet, Smellerbee and I were on one team while Zaida, Longshot and The Duke were another. Doing this up in the treetops would've been dangerous if it was my first time up in the hideout. But I knew the area well enough then that it was no longer a problem. Jet had a great strategy for our team; we swung on ropes from our side all the way over to our opponents' and delivered an aerial attack. Though the game was supposed to be though of in a war aspect, I had never had so much fun. I loved a good fight, even if it was a more mellow one with friends.

We acted like idiot teenagers and kids in town just to be obnoxious. We are nothing but sugar and did whatever we wanted. Like children without authority. That's what it we were. All of us. It had been so long since I was able to just be a kid. I knew that Jet had faced the same problem. I tried not to think of our departure much. It was coming way too soon. I left behind my General mentality and went back to being the kid I was inside. I knew it wouldn't last but I wanted it too...forever.

The last night spent with the Freedom Fighters was the hardest. Thought I wanted to live in the moment with them, I couldn't help but knowing that Zaida and I would be on our way back to the Fire Nation the next day. Pipsqueak and Jet took turns telling both wacky and scary stories by a large bonfire. When things eventually died down, I ventured off to a more isolated platform. I sat on the edge, letting my legs dangle down. Sometimes being alone to reflect was good. The tranquility was nice but the silence was deafening. I was glad when it was broken. All of a sudden, someone grabbed me by the sides. "Don't fall!" Jet teased, pretending as if he were going to shove me off the platform. I screamed in second nature because it would've been a long drop. Even thought it was only a joke, he had scared the living daylights out of me. Jet laughed at my reaction and I hit him in the shin. "Not funny." I gave him a serious look, though we both knew it actually was. He sat down beside me on the ledge.

"Nice night." He marveled at the sky. It was a sight to behold. Especially from up high in the treetops. "The stars are beautiful." He continued. "But not as beautiful as some people." The smooth talking boy smiled at me. I could feel myself begin to blush and I thanked the Moon Spirit for the night and darkness. There was a short awkward silence for a brief moment. "Karuna, will you come back?" I was caught off guard by his question. "Like, I know that you have to stay with your family and all, but will you promise to come back?" He still seemed touchy about the subject of Zaida and I leaving.

"Of course." I promised, not fully knowing how or if I'd be able to return to the Earth Kingdom, The position I was in was a lot more complicated than what Jet knew of. I wanted to make him happy, but what if I could never return? Then I would be lying even more to him. I hated being so uncertain. He was closer all of a sudden. I felt my cheeks grow red. _Wow, he's really cute_, I thought.

"Well because I've never met anyone like you before." Two seconds later, we were kissing. What in the hell was I doing? There was a good chance that I might never see this guy again. _He's really attractive, _my mind sung. _And he's kissing yooouu! _But he didn't even ask if I felt the same way about him. Psh, men. _Who cares? You're kissing a hot guy!_ I really hated being a teenager sometimes.

Zaida went to go find us. By the time she got there, Jet and I were talking again. "Karuna, we've gotta go. We're leaving pretty early tomorrow morning." She reminded me. We said our goodbyes to everyone. It was emotionally scarring in a way. They were like the family I never had. Pipsqueak slapped me on the back with his large hands. I ruffled up The Duke's hair.

"See ya, kid." He squirmed at first, but then laughed. It surprised me when Longshot reached out to hug us. It was good to know that we would be missed. Jet gave both Zaida and I hugs, but held onto me longer. I liked embraces from him. I felt protected in his muscular arms, even though I knew very well that I could protect myself just fine. Smellerbee high-fived us.

"You know where to find us." she grinned. Yeah, we did. I promised myself that I'd find a way to come back. Zaida and I took hold of the gold rings and descended from the treetops. Descending from The Freedom Fighters. From Jet.

"So, did you and Jet have a nice heart-to-heart conversation up there?" Zaida asked as we headed back to the camp. My cheeks began to grow pink again.

"Um yes." My voice went up about two octaves higher than I wanted it to. That was a dead give away. She eyed me suspiciously, and I could even tell so in the dark.

"Oh?" I Knew that it would be no use to try and hide it from her. It was Zaida, she was bound to figure it out eventually. There was no way I could change the subject.

"Well we kinda, um, yeah." I failed at explaining. If anything I made it sound a lot different then what actually happened. But somehow Zaida knew what I meant. It must have been a girl thing. We had special abilities like that.

"You made out with Jet?" She grinned, meaning that she approved.

"Yes?" I answered. It was more of a question than a statement though. Zaida was happy for me. I suddenly felt happy myself, instead of super surprised/shocked when it actually had happened.

"Well, now you have a story to tell once we get back to the Fire Nation. You can tell Ty Lee, Mai and princess evil that you got some action with a hot guy!" I giggled to myself. Zaida made me laugh a lot. Especially with the names she came up for Azula. _I just might do that, _I thought.


	17. Homecoming

I has a speech tomorrow for class. Damn it! D: oh wells, I'm glad I typed up another chapter instead of preparing :D hope you enjoy.  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

My heart sank as the Earth Kingdom slowly grew smaller and smaller out in the distance. Why wasn't I happy that we were returning to the Fire Nation? Why wasn't I overjoyed that we were going home? Because it wasn't my really my home. I had so much to think about on our voyage home; The Freedom Fighters, mine and Zaida's plan. My kiss with Jet, how things would never be the same once we returned back to the homeland.

Zaida joined me on the starboard bow. I was staring out into the water past my ship. She had noticed how quiet I had been in the past week. "What's on your mind?" That was no exact answer to her question. There was so much on my mind that I found it hard to sleep some nights. I didn't have an answer for her. I just sat there in silence for a while, waiting for my brain to process the question.

"Do you think I'm it?" Zaida stared at me, clueless. She didn't understand what I was asking. "Am I the avatar?" I mean, I was an earth-bender as well as a fire-bender. That was unheard of. Zaida didn't respond. I wondered if she shared the same thoughts as me. "I can bend two elements. That's not natural for an average bender." If a person was lucky enough to bend period, it was only one of the four elements. "What if I am the avatar? Then that means Zuko is out there right now, trying to track down me." The thought was unsettling; my childhood friend out on a head-hunt. It sent shivers down my spine. Zaida put her hands on my shoulders.

"We don't know for sure yet, so don't get too worked up about it." she tried to help me relax. How could we not know? The fact that I could bend two elements should have been proof enough.

"What do you mean, 'we don't know for sure?' I have both earth and fire at my command!" I was almost shouting. "A person can only bend one element, if that even. What if I just need to learn the last two? And how can you tell me not to get worked up? If I am the avatar, everyone's counting on me! I'm supposed to be the balance in this world-I'm supposed to end this war!" I didn't know why, but I was so angry and frustrated. I couldn't stand it. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. The anticipation and pressure was killing me. Zaida set me in my place, rightfully so.

"Calm. The hell. Down." she ordered. Without objecting, I sat back down. I knew when I had been in the wrong. I had never seen Zaida with a more stern look on her face. I took a few deep breaths and forced myself to calm down. "We don't know anything. Bending isn't something in your genetics; it's a mind capability. You might just have the right mind set to be able to bend two elements. Just think about it before you jump to conclusions." She most likely right. There must have been a more dignified way to tell if I was truly the avatar. But the uncertainty made the voyage back miserable.

* * *

"Kari! Come over here!" Zaida called from across the deck. I had been lost in the blue majesty of the ocean's waves. The trance was broke as soon as my name was called. I trudged sluggishly over to the other side of the ship were Zaida stood. She pointed out to a large stretch of land out on the horizon. "We're almost to the homeland." she smiled contently. I sighed. We were back in the Fire Nation again.

"We'll be there by tomorrow morning." I yawned, glancing up at the dim lit sky. The moon was in a perfect crescent shape. "I'm gonna hit the hay. Night." It seemed as though I was just a lazy bum who couldn't get enough of sleep. That was pretty much true, but sleep was also a scapegoat for me. If I were to sleep, I didn't have to worry about anything until I woke up. I could mentally leave the world for a number of hours, in pure bliss. That's what I did that night.

I was right about the next day. We pulled into the docks around mid morning. I found an extra soldier uniform and gave it to Zaida. She could blend in until we got back to the palace. We were welcomed back by other military officials. After weeks of being over seas, it felt good to be on land again.

I went to Mai's house first, which was right outside of the palace. The servants let me in and I ascended to the second floor to her room. When I opened the door, I found my friend scribbling down something in a notebook. "Yes, mom?" she droned as she heard the door open. I stood there smiling. Mai lifted her head and did a double take. "Kari!" The melancholy girl cracked a smile and her low mellow tone raised in pitch. "When did you get here?" She rushed over to welcome me back with a nice warm hug. I felt proud whenever I was able to make the depressed girl cheer up.

"An hour or so ago." I answered, overjoyed to see my friend again. She was still pale as ever, with sleek, shiny black hair. I had actually missed her dingy gray aura, as Ty Lee had described it. The girl cupped her hand to her mouth.

"Azula's gonna flip a shit." She suddenly became serious again. I laughed at what she said at first, but then realized that she wasn't kidding.

"Um why? Do I want to know?" My question didn't have much confidence behind it. I wasn't sure if I really wanted her to answer the question or not. Mai shook he head and tried to grin again.

"No, it's not that bad." Keyword: that. "She wanted it to be a surprise, but she hired a designer crew to remodel your room-cuz you've been wanting to change it for a while." Wow. That was frickin' awesome! It was cool to be best friends with a princess. "They started a few months ago, but they're not done yet." I understood what Mai was getting at. Azula was going to murder the whole crew for not finishing on time. As bad as it sounded, I missed her when she threatened and screamed at people.

"Let's go to the palace!" I suggested. "Then we can see workers get thrown out of windows!" Mai laughed along with me, then the two of us headed off to go find our friend.

We could hear Azula's voice a few hallways down. It didn't change much other than the fact that she sounded more mature. It made sense. She had just turned fourteen not too long ago. She didn't sound too happy. It seemed as though she was complaining to one of the designers. Once we drew nearer, we could make out what she was saying. "Amateurs! No, no that's not how the drapes should be-they aren't even in the right color, dammit! And why in Agni would she want a statue of a six legged elephant?" I tried my hardest not to laugh. Typical Azula. Personality wise, she hadn't changed a bit. Mai and I stood a few meters away. She was so busy criticizing the work, that she did not notice us. I cleared my throat.

"Hey Zu," Unlike hers, my voice had gotten slightly deeper in my growth spurt. "Long time not see, huh?" The princess glanced up from the blueprints she was holding and her jaw dropped once she saw me. It had been a while.

"Kari...? Is that..." A huge smile replaced her frustrated scowl as she practically sprinted over to me. She attacked me in a bear hug and I almost couldn't breathe. She might not have looked it, but Azula was pretty strong for her age.

"It's good to see you too." I wheezed. She let go, then took a good look at me. I appeared different since the last time I saw her. For one thing, my hair grew longer; it was down to my lower back. My face was no longer round or baby-faced, and I now had a figure.

"Wow, puberty was good to you." she laughed. I did as well then felt myself begin to blush as I remembered that night in the treetops with Jet. That was when I realized that Azula had changed too. We were no longer the same height; she was about two inches taller than me. Like mine, her face seemed more mature, like that of a young adult's. She had make up on, and unmistakable red lipstick. She really liked the color red. That was probably why almost her entire outfit was that color.

"I can say the same about you." I smiled. "...and Mai." I added quickly, almost blushing again. It was really good to see Azula. It had been too long.

"A lot can happen in a year." The wise words of Mai, I would forever remember. It had been a year since I had last seen them, and a lot had and would happen. I was so happy to be back with my friends that I had almost forgotten something.

"Hey, where's Ty? I haven't seen her." The other two grew quiet, almost as if her name was taboo. My mind instantly thought the worst. Did she became fatally ill or injured? Had she died?

"Ty Lee...decided to join the circus. She left about three months after you did." Azula finally spoke. I suddenly felt the empty void in me, and realized that I longed to see my cheerful little acrobat friend.

"Don' t worry." Mai put her hand on my shoulder. "She's happy; she said it was her calling." That made me feel much better. As long as Ty Lee was happy and somewhere that she belonged and could use her full potential, I was happy too. I just wished that I could have said goodbye to her before she left. Azula gripped my shoulders with her hands.

"Thank Agni you're back. It's been way too quiet and dull. I've had to go to therapy twice and week and the silence was just so-" Stop! Little red flag going up.

"Did you just say therapy?" I swore that I had heard her wrong. That just didn't register in my mind. Azula's eyes shifted back and forth.

"The doctor is in." she mumbled, glancing at Mai who was beside me. " She has many customers these days." What? Oh this had to have been a joke. A really bad joke. Using the least amount of emotion possible, Mai looked quite proud of herself. So that was what she was doing with the notebook earlier in her room. She would write down things down that her clients would tell her to keep track of everything.

"Well that reminds me, I have another appointment in fifteen minutes, so if you ladies don't mind I will be on my way now." Mai the therapist, exited the premises as if nothing had occurred.

"You wanna spar?" Azula broke the silence after Mai left. Typical Azula. I grinned.

"Though you'd never ask. But I'm not wearing a practical outfit." I had on a very formal General's uniform. There were almost too many layers; they would slow me down. Azula rolled her eyes and punched me playfully in the arm.

"Come on you pansy, let's go." I followed her to a room in the palace that was designed similar to the throne room, only it was solely meant for matches and dueling. "You should see the old training group now." She referred to the handful of kids that we had studied alongside when we were younger. "It's gotten bigger. There are roughly twelve people in it now." Five or six more than there used to be. "I don't know who they all are, but there are three new guys. I can only remember two names though. The short one is Razi and the one who I think is gay is Kenzo." I laughed really hard at the last part. Azula smiled too. "I'm serious. I think he might be gay. Sameer and Roje are still involved." That was good to hear. Those two were good friends of mine as well. Azula continued. "Aram is just as sexy as ever." I giggled again. I had forgotten that Azula had the hots for the boy. She had had a crush on him since she was eleven or twelve.

"Does Quin still have his shaggy hair?" I asked. Azula nodded as if the answer was more obvious than life itself.

"I'm pretty sure it's even longer. It touches his shoulders now." Then Quin probably wouldn't have looked much different than when I saw him last. "They'd probably be thrilled if you showed up for practice tomorrow. But for now, it's go time." I agreed with her. There would be plenty of time to reconnect with old friends later. My General uniform was too constricting in the upper body, so I stripped down to just the pants and a tank I had underneath. But the tank was a little too short. I must have shrunk it when I last washed it; the cloth stopped at about the middle of my ribcage, leaving a good portion of my stomach revealed. I had not been kidding when I mentioned that I had built myself up nicely. I didn't have to flex my arms in order for the muscle to be seen in them. And I really wasn't joking when I said that my stomach became really muscular over the last few months. Azula stared at my stomach with really wide eyes. "Holy shit." she marveled. "Have you been working out?" Her reaction was priceless. I shrugged.

"A little." I modestly replied, getting into a good solid stance and holding my hands up in a defensive guard. Azula blinked in disbelief then did the same.

"Learn anything new while you were away? Show me what you got." she smirked. She knew me too well. Over the years, I swayed away from only defending in a fight. I had become a no-nonsense fighter; in other words, cut to the chase, cut the shit and just fight, kind of person. I was on the offense in a flash. I sprinted at the princess and leaped into the air. I performed an airborne crescent-kick, sending a jet of white flame in her direction. Azula did a cross-hand block, the flames barely grazed her. She propelled herself forward with, to my surprise, blue flames. I had no idea that other fire-benders had the ability to change the color of their flames. I thought that I was special or really weird. I was so intrigued by the fire, that I almost got burnt to a crisp but a huge blast of blue fire heading straight towards my upper half. I dropped to the ground, my palms on the floor with one leg bent and the other extended. I quickly clasped my hands together, my index fingers pressed together and pointing up; the rest interlaced and down. I blew into my fingers and a large funnel shaped flame shot out towards Azula. The girl went into a back-bend at the last second and kicked her legs backwards. The princess didn't have much time to enjoy being right side up again, because I totally rushed her. Screw bending, tackles were much more fun. I hurled myself at her middle, taking her down. She hit the floor and I sat on her stomach, laughing in her face.

"Oh yeah! What now your highness?" I triumphantly gloated. Azula had on an excellent poker face. It seemed as though she accepted defeat. All of a sudden, she caught me by surprise, lunged herself forward and reversed the tackle. The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back with Azula on me. Her face was inches from mine. She smirked. "I win."


	18. The Dragon Boat Festival

This one took a bit more effort to write because I was having a hard time figuring out how I wanted certain events to go. Anyways, I hope everyone enjoys, some people will be thrilled and others might not be lol!  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

"Do you always have to show me up?" I asked her, realizing that I'd been outsmarted...again. Azula did hate to lose. That was almost how it had always been. She laughed.

"Just admit that you missed me kicking your ass." She talked big, but since she actually could back it up, she was allowed to. Unlike a lot of people, she followed through. And I had totally won that fight too. She was just more clever than I was.

"Psh. Over my dead body." I joked. Then, at the worst time like ever, Mai entered the room. Her therapy session must have been done with. Wow that was quick. But then again, I didn't have a very good concept of time.

"Geez, I leave for not even an hour and you two are at it again. My gosh, just get a room, will you?" The older girl made a face even though I knew she was only teasing. Mai, lived to make everything more weird than it needed to be. The reason why was because Azula still had me pinned to the floor. The princess' face was flush and she narrowed her eyebrows.

"Mai!" she hissed. It was so hard to hold in my laughter. It was _really_ hard. I loved yet hated the emotionless girl at the same time. I squirmed in place.

"Uh, Azula? I kinda can't move." I didn't know if that moment could have been any more awkward, with a special thanks to Mai for her wonderful comment. Azula looked pretty embarrassed.

"Oh," she laughed nervously. "My bad." She quickly stood up and walked over to where Mai stood, in the doorway. I placed my palms on the tile on either side of my head. I bent my knees in, pushed off with my hands and thrust my feet into the air. I landed on my feet gracefully, and joined the two. "Liar." Azula glared as she began to exit the room. "You totally work out."

That night I sat in my half finished room and began to write a letter to Jet. I told him that we had arrived safely and I asked him how he and everyone else was back in the Earth Kingdom.

"Whatcha doin?" I nearly jumped up into my canopy. My quirky stowaway friend was back in action. How did she find me? That was the question.

"Zaida, how'd you know that this was my room?" I asked, still a little shaken up. She smiled goofily and did a round-off.

"Because I'm just amazing." she giggled. That was true. I had to grant her that. She stood beside me, reading the words from the page from over my shoulder. I dipped my pen in the ink on the desk and continued.

"I'm writing to Jet." I explained. "I can send it out tomorrow on Chakashi." I pointed to my hawk perched in it's hanging cage. I had named the bird Chakashi after the sacred wind spirit, since the mammal took to the skies. Zaida nodded right next to me.

"Alright good. I was just checking in." She headed for the door. I turned in my chair.

"People are getting together for like a mixed martial arts and bending type of thing tomorrow. You should come too." I offered. Zaida thought about it for a moment and smiled.

"Sounds cool. I'll check it out."

It felt odd returning to the courtyard. I hadn't studied there in a long time and it made me feel like a young kid again as I stood by the large Willow. A lot of my old friends recognized me immediately.

"Kari!" Sameer and Roje both ran over to me. The two of them captured me in a big bear hug. I was glad to see them as well; I had missed them after all. "It's awesome that you're back!" Sameer grinned but then grew serious. "Things are a lot different sine you've left. They've cracked down harder. The government wants to find Admirals and Commanders to train us to be unbeatable. "

"They're trying to turn us into living, breathing weapons." Roje helped explain. I didn't understand at first. Maybe it was because I didn't want to understand. "The Fire Nation is starting to go overboard. Any child who even has the potential to become a fire-bender is immediately put into a school for bending so that they can be in the military once they grow up. And for the other kids, there are schools just for fighting." She further explained. Sameer took his turn again.

"It's nuts!" he exclaimed. "This new system, it's-I don't like it, Kari. I just don't." I was now on the same page as them. They were talking about the war. My stomach grew queasy and I began to feel uneasy again. Roje saw Aram and Quin approaching out of the corner of her eye and shushed Sameer.

"We'll talk about this later." The conversation was over for the time being.

"Sankari. So that prodigy has returned." Aram smiled as he and Quin joined the three of us. He had never called me 'Kari' because he thought 'Sankari' was too beautiful of a name to shorten. Azula had been right, he was _extremely _attractive. Aram had gotten taller, about six feet now. I could see his toned abs from under his workout shirt. His smile was gorgeous as well; pearly whites and I almost expected to see a sparkle. Quin's hair had, indeed grown longer. It still looked good on him though. He and Aram welcome me back with nice hugs. Then I noticed another group on the other side of the courtyard. There was a very familiar face among the six of them. She had light brown hair and a certain glow in her eyes.

"How come Naomi's not with you guys?" I asked. Roje made an exaggerated sigh and shifted all of her weight to her right side.

"Naomi, um, how do I say this? Kind of became a bitch a little while after you left." Ah, that made sense. That sucked though, because she was a pretty cool person when I had known her. I didn't recognize any of the others that were present.

"So who's everyone else?" I asked, curiously. Quin pointed to various people in the group. He started first with a short, darker skinned girl.

"That's Sara's. She's pretty nice." He then pointed to a boy who was also short but with spikey hair. "That's Razi. He's always trying to make sexual advances on Corrine." Quin laughed. I glanced up at him oddly. Wow. Interesting, but perhaps a bit too much information for me. "You see that slim guy with wavy brown hair? He's Kenzo." I muffled a laugh deep in my throat. I couldn't help but think about what Azula had said abut him the other day. My friends gave me a weird stare. I pulled myself together and acted as if nothing happened.

"Corrine's the one talking with Zahil and Deepthi near the pond." Roje informed me. The girl was very pretty. She had brown eyes and billowy dark brown hair with hints of red in it. "She's a good bender." Then no wonder why that Razi kid was making, sed 'advances' on her.

"And that hot girl over there," Sameer pointed back over to the larger group opposite of us. That's Jade." The girl seemed to be the center of the posse, though I didn't think she was speaking. She had long, gorgeous, poker-straight black hair. Her emerald eyes seemed to burn into my soul. Her stare alone made me feel like prey. "She can kill you in like, two moves." That did not sound pleasant to me at all.

"Sounds like a seriously skilled bender." I breathed, examining her. The four looked at me without blinking, and in sync they scared the hell out of me.

"She's not a bender." What? That did not register in my mind. Maybe I needed my ears to get a good cleaning. "Jade is a lethal and deadly weapon, literally." Roje's eyes were slightly wider then. She, herself even seemed nervous. "She knows 12 different styles of martial arts, including weaponry. She is the definition of a ninja." This girl sounded very intimidating. Especially because Mai, Azula and I referred to Ty Lee as being a ninja. I could only imagine good this Jade girl must have been. "Without our bending, no one could have a fighting chance up against her." That was the key word in the sentence: without.

"Then let's focus on something we have and she doesn't." White flames rose up from my palms, shocking all four of my friends equally. "Bending."

They were amazed at how advanced my fire-bending had become over the years. I showed them how to conjure up large quantities of fire without using too much effort and I also taught them how to bend effectively with their feet. I mad missed practicing moves and forms with them. It felt like we were nine and ten once more, learning techniques for the first time. Sameer was just as energetic as before and Aram and Quin were even better fighters, years later. I noticed how Quin kept staring at Zaida once I introduced her and she joined the group. She also kept stealing glances at him. Aw, love was in the air. Oh how ironic that statement would turn out to be.

The festival was about five days away. That morning of the celebration, Chakashi came back from his journey with a message for me, I eagerly opened up the pouch on the bird's back and pulled out the parchment:

_Karuna,_

_I'm glad you and Zaida are doing well._

_Everyone here misses you and so do I._

_Things in the Earth Kingdom aren't much different._

_We're still reeking havoc as usual but it would be _

_much better if you two were here with us._

_Candle light makes everything clearer, doesn't it?_

_Wishing you both well,_

_ Jet & The F.F_

It was just a casual letter. I was surprised because I was sure the paper would be full of ideas and schemes to rebel against the Fire Nation. And what the hell was up with that candle light part? Was he trying to be romantic? Because I had no idea what he was trying to say. I shrugged, hiding the note in my desk drawer and readied myself for the evening.

All of the roads and streets were jam packed with all the citizens in the Fire Nation by dusk. The Dragon Boat Festival was one of our biggest holidays. There were a lot of activities going on; boat races in the river, arts and crafts geared towards the young children, and of course the bending competitions. I was stoked. I had always wondered what tournaments were like and now I was a part of one. Mai, Azula and I watched the events from a second story balcony. Ozai had requested a good view of the festival for his daughter and friends. And of course, no one failed to please the Firelord.

"Enjoying yourself?" I asked Mai, who was leaning against the rail, looking down on everything. She was in he usual Goth garb; a dark dress with unique stitching as well as design.

"Eh," Was her response. "These festivals are not really my thing." I rolled my eyes. Nothing other than sulking was 'her thing.'

"It's quite boring, really." Azula observed from my right. "I'm just waiting for the tournament to start." Her elbows were pressed against the ledge and her chin was in her hands. She wore a crimson strapless top that revealed most of her stomach, and matching pants. Her hair was out of the topknot for once. It looked really pretty down. I never understood why she never wore it that way often. "Aren't you competing?" The princess asked me. I was admiring the way she looked that night and it took me a moment to answer. I nodded, a minute after realizing that I hadn't responded as soon as I should have.

"Well you better hurry up and get down there. You're on in ten minutes." Mai warned. Crap! That wasn't a whole lot of time. I knew that I had no concept of time, but I didn't think it was that bad. I panicked mildly.

"I've gotta go! Wish me good luck!" I ran to the stairs as fast as I could and nearly knocked over Zaida who was coming up.

"What are you still doing here? You've got to be on stage soon." Like I didn't already know that. Good thing the competition was being held I the center of town which was located conveniently close to the building we were in. She hurried with me down the staircase.

"I know, I'm going right now!" Before I quickly made my way over to the stage in which the competitors were supposed to meet at, Zaida told me that I'd be great. I thanked her. Knowing myself, I would need the encouragement.

* * *

**Zaida's POV**

Kari entered into the form category. Though she could have done well in the sparing section, she wanted to play it safe and enter in the category she felt most comfortable in. She was an excellent fire-bender, but only if she kept her eye on the prize. Only if she stayed focused. Kari wasn't the first to perform, but she wasn't the last to either. Out of thirteen people she went ninth. People of a wide variety in age competed. Each had different skill and talent. I knew that Kari was better than all of them though. I observed from the balcony. Though I wasn't exactly acquainted with Azula, I had become friends with Mai, so I hung out with her and watched the tournament.

"Our next competitor is a fourteen year-old: Sankari Tsong." An announcer spoke over the crowd. Those who knew Kari or even her father, cheered wildly. There was a large stage-like platform set up in the town square for the benders who were competing. Kari walked out to center stage with confidence, but somehow I knew she was a tad bit nervous. She waited for silence before she began.

Kari drew in a deep breath and then moved her hands around her upper half in a sudo form of a block. She pivoted and slid her feet around into perfect stances. She punched in a few different angles, then did a series of airborne crescent-kicks. The audience was amazed and inspired by the white flames which she had produced. She performed a hook-kick with one leg, stepped down and threw a flying round-house with the other one. She threw her arms up and flipped backwards. As she was coming down, she pushed herself higher into the air with flames from her feet and performed more aerial kicks. When Kari landed back on the ground, she channeled all of her focus into her last trick. Her arms moved wildly as she began to shape the large white flames that she had conjured up. Concentration and determination played upon her face. Soon, the bright flames became a roaring white dragon. I had seen her do this trick before nearly a dozen times. When she was practicing her bending, when she was raiding a village. It brought fear to the townspeople. The beast wasn't intended to entertain people like it did that night. It didn't matter how big it was, nor how bright it appeared. All that thing was to me, was destruction.

The spectators were thrilled and awed at the sight of the creature. Kari made the fire dragon move through hand motions. She made it go all over the crowd, soaring just barely above her viewers' heads. Her creation was very large and she needed absolute focus to control it. For the finale, Kari slid down on one knee and brought the fiery monster behind her, jaws wide open. With the flames surrounding her, she opened her mouth letting white hot flames shoot up into the blackened sky. It appeared as though she and the dragon were breathing fire as one. The crowd loved it. A Deafening applause followed her performance. Kari humbly and modestly bowed and exited the stage, though I knew she was beaming on the inside. I clapped as well. She deserved the attention. It was a great performance and she had done extremely well. The next four benders couldn't even come close to being a match for her.

* * *

**Sankari's POV**

I felt so proud of myself after I left the stage. I was so worried that I was going to screw up, but I proved myself wrong. I had done a good job. The response from the audience made me feel awesome inside.

By the time I ventured back up to the balcony, Zaida and Mai had already left. I figured out later that Zaida was trying to acculturate Mai by dragging her into the heat of the festival. Azula was by herself once I got up there. "That was pretty cool what you did down there." she smiled. A compliment from her highness; surely I was dreaming. I didn't know what to say, so that standard 'thanks' was my response. I leaned against the balcony next to her, and we stared down at the people in the streets.

"Nice night." She observed the darkened sky with bright stars twinkling in the distance. "It's beautiful, but not as much as some." Holy crap. I felt a total deja vu`. I swore that I had had a similar conversation but I couldn't quite put my finger on when or who it was with. I said nothing. I had no comment. There was awkward silence between the two of us and it felt like years going by when it was only mere seconds. "I just have this really funny feeling..." Azula trailed off, gazing at the sky. For once, the princess was at peace of mind for the time being. I felt something strange form in the pit of my stomach. Then it began to spread. It felt as thought butterflies were floating around freely inside of me. What the hell was going on? What was wrong with me? Soon, the only thing I hear was Azula's voice. It was if I had droned out everything else that was going on. Only that moment mattered to my brain from some odd reason. "I think I'm...in love..." Say what? Azula in love? Oh what an idea! What a concept! I could have jeered at her or poked fun at her. But I was a good friend and I decided not to . I wanted to be happy for her, so I didn't include any smart-ass or obnoxious comments. This meant that Mai's therapy was finally going somewhere. Azula had discovered love!

"With who?" I asked, trying to be supportive and engage her on the topic. We were very close then, and I felt my body temperature increase. Though the night was cool, I felt very warm. Azula looked at me with beautiful golden eyes. I don't know how I didn't see it coming, but for whatever reason, I was too oblivious to see.

"You." She leaned in and our lips met. I was taken by complete surprise, oddly enough. I was not expecting that. Especially from Azula. I had never known she felt that way about me. That was the moment when I knew that things would never be the same again.


	19. My Fear Returns

This chapter was fun to write; yes azula does have a sort of soft spot deep deep deeep deeeeep (etc) deeeeeeeep down inside :D hope ya'll enjoy ( I have no idea why I decided to use a southern accent on that last part... oh well!)  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

It felt as if I was paralyzed for a brief moment. I mean, what the hell do you do when your best friend makes a move on you? It's not like there's a class on how to handle the situation: Good morning children, today we're going to learn what to do when your friend's got the hots for you. I was freaked out because, one, it had happened suddenly and two, it was Azula; the girl wouldn't show affection eve if her life depended on it. But as shocked as I was, I liked it. I had enjoyed kissing Jet weeks before, but this time I felt serious sparks. But this feeling, was it normal? Was it right? I had no clue. Confusion and uncertainty were plain to see on my face. Sometimes my facial expressions were a little much. When Azula pulled away, she noticed how weirded out I had appeared. The princess looked really embarrassed. She stared at the floor.

"I...I shouldn't have done that." The girl turned to leave. She most likely thought that I would never speak to her again after that. As I was trying to figure out what was going on, a voice spoke in my head. It was my father's: _Don't forget about your emotions, Sankari. Don't forget about love. _My father had told me that love was the most important emotion. But was this love? Azula and I had grown up together for five years. I had never thought that something like that could happen. Azula was beautiful and talented; and even though she could be socially awkward and a total bitch at times, I could still stand to be around her. I liked being around her a lot. But back then, I didn't know how to identify the feeling I had. Then I realized the significance in what my father had told me before he left six years ago. He knew that eventually his little girl would fall for someone. This was meant to be.

Before the princess could go any further, I grabbed her wrist to stop her. I was staring into her golden eyes once more. My heart turned into putty. "No. It's okay." I found myself assuring her. The two of us weakly smiled at one another. We became closer again, and then we kissed a second time. Her lips felt so soft, unlike Jet's. But then again, Azula was a girl and guys such as Jet, weren't necessarily meant to have soft facial features. "My stars, why doesn't anyone ask first?" I teased lightly. Azula raised an eyebrow as she gave me a peculiar stare.

"This has happened to you before?" I had failed to mention Jet to her; and not to over complicate things, I decided to omit the story and responded vaguely.

"Yeah." I answered, plain and simple. She nodded. Silence. Awkward silence, to be exact. Being a teenager was awkward enough, now our pauses were too. Damn puberty was a bitch. "So what now?" I asked nervously, itching the back of my arm. Azula leaned against the balcony ledge again and shrugged.

"We dominate the Earth together?" What made it so humorous was because of how casual and ordinary she made it sound. There was no way I could hold in my laughter on that one. I let it all out. My laugh was contagious and pretty soon the princess joined me. "You actually thought it was funny?" Azula smiled. To me, it was hilarious. But it was one of those, 'you had to be there' moments.

"Hell yeah." I grinned. "Believe it or not, you can be pretty funny sometimes." The older girl beamed. Wow. I was flirting with my best friend. Well, it didn't really matter anymore, seeing as how she and I did just kiss only moments ago.

"Thanks, Kari." She held out her hand. "Let's say you and I go find Depressed-Woman and Odd Girl?" I took the princess' hand and we began our search together. I never figured out who had won the competition. I didn't stick around long enough to find out. Azula and I had gotten drunk since we were at the legal age to drink. We consumed a wee bit too much and acted like total asses the rest of the night.

* * *

"Attention!" I nearly jumped through the ceiling of my room. I lay in a heap of blankets sprawled out across my bed. My head ached from all of the alcohol and my body felt so tired. As I peeled my eyes open, Zaida stood in front of my bed, accompanied by Roje and Sameer. I groaned, and it sounded so pathetic that I felt embarrassed after the fact.

"What do you want?" I whined, half asleep. The three couldn't help but laugh at me. I noticed that seldom times people actually laughed _with _me.

"Say hello to the newest freedom fighters." Zaida proudly presented. I sat up quickly. What now? She couldn't have told them. Now way. I must have been dreaming.

"Zaida told us what you guys did in the Earth Kingdom!" Sameer excitedly chattered. _Damn it, Zaida. _

"I knew you'd see reason eventually." Roje seemed relieved and grateful. Her hair looked extra shiny that morning, but maybe it was just the lighting. Or maybe it was because I was still a tad bit loopy from the night before. "But I never thought you'd turn on your own soldiers." I often tried hard not to think about that life changing day. It was not one of my fondest memories; it was treason.

"Are you really and earth-bender?" Sameer butted back into the conversation. That triggered the consciousness back into me. _Damn it, Zaida!_ I cursed again. She really had told them everything. Before I could even form a good answer in my head, Roje gave me an odd look.

"Why is there red lipstick on your neck?" Shit. I sobered up real fast. As if on cue, I sprinted to my personal bathroom on the other side of the room. I didn't speak a word to the three of them. I slammed the door behind me and stopped in front of the mirror. Sure enough, there was a red smudge directly under my jawline on the right side of my face. I flipped on the faucet and began washing the evidence away. I turned to grab a hand towel, but stopped midway.

"Heyyy." A much too mellow voice greeted me. Azula lay in the empty bathtub, staring at the ceiling; and from the looks of it, the alcohol hadn't completely left her system yet. _Oh my lord, _my mind groaned.

"What are you doing in there?" I scolded, not quite sure how the princess had gotten there in the first place. But then again, we were both out of our minds the night before; I had no recollections of what had happened after the kiss, and for all I knew we could have gotten married at Avatar Roku's temple. Azula hiccuped.

"You looked cuter in person." I rolled my eyes. Just how many bottles did that girl down? Five? Six? At the moment it seemed likely so. Then she started giggling to herself. This was going to be an issue. Azula was crazy enough when she was not under the influence.

"Azula, seriously! Get a hold of yourself. I'm pretty sure we're training with your dad today." And just like how I had, Azula snapped back to reality. Her golden eyes widened and she was now alert like her usual self.

"Oh fuck!" she swore. "Help me out of this damn thing, will ya?" I leaned over to assist the princess up, by accident it backfired. She grabbed me and pulled me down with her. I landed on top pf her, legs dangling out of the tub. Wonderful. "Well," Azula began, all perky-like. "Under different circumstances, this could be quite enjoyable." Really? That was all she could think of in that moment? Unbelievable.

"You've really gotta stop drinking, Zu." I shook my head. Azula smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Who said it was the alcohol talking?" That was it. Enough was enough. I pushed myself up the only way I knew how; pushing my fist into her stomach for balance. I didn't mean to cause her pain, but here was really no other way to do it. "Ow!" she complained. I apologized half-heartedly and helped her get out too.

"What the hell is going on?" I could hear Roje's voice from outside the door. Crap. I had forgotten that they were still present.

"Hide! You're not supposed to be here!" I hissed at Azula, shoving her back into the tub only seconds after she had finally gotten out of it.

"Ah!" The girl hollered as she fell back. I closed the curtain right when the bathroom door opened. Zaida poked her head in. She scanned the room for a brief moment before making eye-contact with me.

"Are...you alright in here?" I formed a wide overly cheesy grin. I didn't know how I did not arouse Zaida's suspicions. But somehow, I did.

"Oh yes, perfectly fine!" I hoped they didn't see through my fakeness. Sameer joined Zaida in the threshold. I could tell that he was still trying decide whether or not he wanted to look inside as well.

"Then what was up with all the shouting?" I glanced around nervously. How would I be able to cover up that one? I could have told them that I suffered from multiple personality disorder, but I already had the sensory sickness so that would be overkill. They'd never believe me; but then again they might have. I clenched my teeth and forced myself to grin again.

"Um, I found a-pimple!" I pointed to my nose. Such a lie. I had really clear skin. Sameer sighed, muttered something like 'girls' under his breath and then left the scene. Roje began to follow him.

"...We'll leave you to that." I was so glad that they didn't interrogate me any longer. I still had no clue why Zaida thought it was okay to tell them about our most important secret of all. Zaida gave me a look and leaned against the threshold after the other two left.

"Is there a guy in there?" she asked. I glanced at the bathroom tub curtain that Azula was hiding behind. What would I say: no, but there is a princess? No. Forget it.

"Mmm, no." I quickly decided, shutting the door in my friend's face. That was a close one. I could somewhat breathe again. "You okay in there, Zu?" I called out to the curtain. I felt kind of stupid because it seemed as though I were talking to an inanimate object. There was a short pause before an answer came back.

"Oh, I'm just dandy." Azula replied in mock optimism. I almost laughed. I pulled the curtain back and reached down to help the princess back to her feet. "If this is how you show affection from where you come from, then I'm in for some rough times." She laughed bitterly, poking fun because I was really from the Earth Kingdom.

"Like you even know what affection is." I rolled my eyes. That much I knew was true. It was Azula. She was just as affectionate as an angry and rabid platypus-bear. Azula pouted and folded her arms.

"Hey, I can be very affectionate!" I restrained myself from laughing at her comment. Far from the truth. So far that you would need a binoculars. I shook my head and turned back to the mirror. I needed to brush my bed-head hair so that it look presentable. Azula's arms wrapped around my waist from behind and she pulled me back into her. I wasn't expecting that; especially not from her. She rested her chin on my shoulder. "See? I told you." she sighed. I'd admit that it was sweet, but it was Azula, I knew it would take a while for me to get used to. As odd as it was, I actually liked the fact that Azula was holding me. The girl had a really comfortable embrace, oddly enough. I rested the side of my head against her collar bone. Those moments felt almost perfect. Then, like everything else eventually does, it died. "You mentioned a training session with my dad?" she asked.

"Yes. Yes I did." I replied, not missing a beat. Silence. We both stared at each other with wide eyes. Mega crap! The two of us bolted for the door in a flash!

"Again!" Ozai commanded. I widened my stance and raised my bent right leg up. I hook-kicked, set my foot down, front-snap kicked with my left and once I set it down, punched with my right. Then I was expected to immediately go back into my starting stance. I had down this same routine forty times in a row; I had counted. My legs ached from the continuous kicking, and my form was slowly beginning to weaken. Azula stood about ten feet to the side of me. Though she didn't show it, somehow I knew that she was tired as well. The Firelord stood in front of us, eying our stances and composure. "Azula." Ozai jerked his head to the side and the princess made her way over to a column off the the side. The Firelord stood tall and proud before me with a black cloth in his hand. "Put it on." he instructed. I took the material from him, placed it over my eyes and tied it up in the back. I feared the worst. I would be performing blindly. I couldn't see a thing even it I opened my eyes against the soft material. There was no way I could cheat. "Defend yourself!" I was scared out of my mind. How could I spar against the Firelord if I could not see? Better yet, how could I spar him period? My fists were clenched tightly, up at the ready. I was going down and I knew it.

Things were quiet; too quiet. Though I was worried, somehow I felt prepared and ready. As soon as Ozai paced forward, I could feel it. The Firelord came at me with a quickness; I didn't know how but I knew where he was at the moment. Though I was in complete darkness, I could find my opponent. I cross-hand blocked his palm-heal and performed another block that went across my body against his punch. I could tell that the Firelord was very fast without even seeing him. He tried to sweep my feet from out underneath me. I jumped back and crescent-kicked, accidentally sending flames at his majesty. I was trying to be respectful by only defending, though the Firelord had trained us to fight for the kill. My instincts took over. Ozai was testing me, strengthening me. The blindfold wasn't to single me out or make me feel weak and vulnerable. It was to make me a better fighter. The Firelord wasn't in front of me anymore; but using the other senses that I still had, I pivoted on my feet to face him again. I could hear the crackle and feel the heat of the flames heading my way. The flames danced on my fingers as I caught them and redirected them all around me. I felt calm, collected and confident. Ozai shifted on his feet meters away, sending vibrations through the floor to me. I planted my feet down firmly and braced myself for whatever attack he was conspiring. My hand seized a fire so powerful and hot, I almost couldn't hold onto it. The energy tingling in the palm of my hand was almost overbearing; I thought that I would never feel this again. Not wanting to have the raw power in my possession, I pushed my hand out to the left; in a split second, it was gone.

"Remove the blindfold." I did as the Firelord said. My eyes immediately fell to a column on the left once they had adjusted to the light. Black scorch marks decorated a large portion of the center and there was a small hole as well. My worst enemy had found it's way back to me. Lightning. I shivered at the thought of myself holding that power once more. Ozai glanced at me with great interest. He had not seen me fire-bend in a long time. My flames were now white-not the standard orange. That baffled many a fire-bender. After a few moments in silence, Ozai nodded to me. "You performance exceeded my expectations, Sankari." He praised subtly. I felt my ego swell up a bit. "I will be speaking to you about a few matters in the near future." He added in an undertone. "You may go." I placed my arms at my sides and bowed to the Firelord. I was done for the day. "Azula." The princess picked herself off the column she was leaning against. She smiled warmly at me as we passed one another, then she went into serious mode as she stood before her father.

As I exited the room, I could hear the crackling and the electrical current of lightning. I had cowered at the presence of it twice; a few moments ago, and two months before in the Earth Kingdom. But now that I had come to face it again, I craved for the feeling of the raw energy running through me. I longed to feel the sensation of the charge at my finger tips. I desired the power of lightning.


	20. Evey Nation Has its Rebels

I can't believe it's already chapter 20! D: my goodness I orignally never though I could keep it going this long. Well enjoy and review!  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

"This is really interesting." I flipped through the pages of an age old document. "I never knew that Sozin and Roku had once been friends." Azula and I were lounging on the couch in her room. She leaned back against the cushions while I rested my head on her stomach. I thought it was comfy. Azula began playing with my hair; it was quite luscious after all.

"They were. And Zuko and I are descendants of them." Great Grandfather Sozin and Roku- I never knew that. It was pretty cool. "And why are you using my stomach as a pillow?" The girl laughed. I smiled.

"Because you complained about how my stomach is too hard. So I get to lie on yours instead." I explained. Azula sighed one of her 'if you insist' sighs and I went back to my reading. Minutes later, the door opened and Mai entered at the most appropriate time; you'll not my sarcasm. She was grumbling to herself and looking depressed as usual. She shuddered.

"Never am I going shopping with my mom again. That woman doesn't-" She stopped once she caught sight of us on the couch. She blinked in disbelief then shook her head. "You guys are so weird. These kinds of things make you two look like you're together or a thing." she wrinkled her nose. I glanced around suspiciously. Funny how to brought that up. By funny I meant extremely awkward. Azula slipped her hand into mine.

"We are together." She flat out told Mai. My brain blanked out on me and I grinned stupidly; then I did a double take. What now? Since when? Just because you kiss someone once or twice or...it doesn't mean you're an item. Was she even going to let me have a say in this? I did the dumb thing:

"We are?" I sat up and looked at the princess. Azula let go of my hand and smacked me upside the head. I needed that.

"Yes, dummy!" she snapped. "We established this." Where was I when that happened? We didn't agree on anything of the sort. I almost questioned her further, then realized I wanted to stay in one piece. Mai gaped at us, staring back and forth at Azula and me, trying to figure out if it was a joke or for real. If there was even the slightest ounce of color in the girl's face, it was all drained then.

"Oh spirits, help us now." Mai's knees buckled and she fainted on the carpet in front of us. Just like that.

"Well that was overly dramatic." I glared at the listless girl on the floor. Mai was unbelievable sometimes. She had acted as if we had told her that I was pregnant with Azula's baby, for Agni's sake. Not that it was possible; even though I was a little slow most of the time, I knew what could and couldn't be done in this world. Azula's smirk returned and she scooted closer.

"Well, since she's down for the count..."

"Not so fast, princess." I stood up. "Let's be good Samaritans." I searched the room for something we could use to revive Mai. Personally, I wanted to bop her on the head with a hammer, but unfortunately that would probably only make things worse. Azula crossed her arms and turned away from me.

"Ugh, you know I hate being good." she pouted. One of the only truthful things to ever come out of her mouth. I found a pitcher of water sitting on the window sill and seized it. This would be perfect.

"Honey, the whole Fire Nation knows." I retorted, pouring the water onto Mai's blank face. A few seconds later, the newly conscious girl sputtered, cursed and flailed her arms every which way. For once I had down something affective in my life.

"Okay, okay! I'm awake- you can stop christening me now!" Mai gripped a lock of her hair and began squeezing the water out of it. "Well, some good did come out of this, I guess." she acted as if she had never went unconscious. We waited for her to continue. "Ty Lee owes me five silver coins now." Mai was rather nonchalant about it. Azula glared at our friend, eyes seething with anger and annoyance. I waited for the big blow up.

"You turned this into a bet?" she shrieked. Mai dangerously ignored Azula's obvious rage and turned to focus me. If I hadn't been there, Azula would have murdered Mai on the spot. Within seconds, Azula had the assassin in a headlock, about to crush her skull. In the position she was in, Mai could not reach for any of her weapons hidden within her maroon and black robes.

"Kari! Control your woman!" Mai gasped with what little breath she had. But that was one of the many things in life that were just not possible.

"That's like asking me to control the monsoons!" I argued. At the moment, Mai wasn't doing so hot. She used her free hand to punch Azula in the stomach but it seemed to have no affect on the princess. When Azula's pissed, she's pissed and you're screwed. Mai was about to most likely die so I decided to get involved.

Since I really didn't see any other options, and the fact that I sucked at impromptu problem solving, I did what first came to mind: I jumped on Azula's back. My intention was to restrain her, but the extra force caused the three of us to topple over. Mai coughed, regaining her wind then rolled over.

"Remind me never to tag-team with you."she glared at me. I was only trying to help. She should have been grateful; if I had just idly stood by, she could have very well been a dead knife-throwing girl. Azula lay face first on the floor.

"I think you dislocated my spine." she whined into the carpet. I laughed nervously and removed myself from the presence of the two so that I could not harm them anymore. Mai groaned and slowly stood back up.

"I did come here for a reason." She dusted off her clothes. "Zaida was looking for you."

* * *

It wasn't too hard to find the gymnast. She was doing a layout outside not too far from the Coy Pond Zuko and I would go to as kids. "You!" I pointed, showing her that I meant business. "I need to have a word with you." I was still shocked and appalled that she had let others know about our secret. Zaida knew immediately what I was getting at and stopped her routines.

"I know, I know. I should have consulted with you first, I'm sorry. But we can trust them." She meant Roje and Sameer. "You and I both know we can't do this alone." The girl looked at me sternly, referring to our plan. I knew she was right. "They share the same feelings about the Fire Nation as we do." Another truth. I nodded. "I've been searching for more people to join the cause." Zaida continued. "We're going to all meet in the only safe place I can think of; you old house."

"You're crashing my place?" My eyes widened. "How many people did you invite?"

"Just a few." Zaida reassured me. "You should go."

"Well duh, it is my house-but why?" I asked. I had enough to do already. Zaida pushed the tips of her bangs out of her eyes.

"Just be there by dusk tonight and I'll explain everything."

It had been years since I had last set foot in my house. It was early, but I wanted to take a trip down memory lane before Zaida and whoever else showed up. Everything was exactly how it had been five years ago. The parlor room carpet was white and spotless; the portrait of my father and I still hung on the wall above the dresser. "Hey dad," I whispered to the picture. "I'm home." Our house looked the same except for my room. It was nearly empty since I had moved just about everything of mine into the palace. There were still two holes in my wall. I would never forget that night. It tore me apart. No child should have ever had to feel that kind of pain. I was brought back to my senses when I heard the front door open. I left my old room and descended down the staircase. Zaida stood in the center of the parlor room with Roje.

"You're here!" Zaida smiled. Of course I showed up; it was still my house after all.

Sameer came soon after and for a short while it was just the four of us. Then Corrine arrived with a tall boy whose name was Zahil. Deepthi came after them with another girl whom I had never met before. She looked about twelve or thirteen. She came right up to me and shook my hand. "Hi, I'm Flame." The girl smiled. Interesting_ name, _I thought. _Well, it is pretty relevant for a fire-bender. _I was surprised when Zaida opened the door for the fourth time and Quin and Aram were there. I thought for sure that those two wouldn't have anything against the Fire Nation.

Zaida gathered everyone into the dining room. They all say in chairs while she and I stood. There were sixteen eyes staring at us. Zaida cleared her throat. "Does everyone know why we invited you here?" She began the meeting.

"Because the Fire Nation are out of their minds." Zahil spoke up. That was the first time I had heard him speak, and already my first impression of him was a good one. "They're trying to take over everything." He shook his head in disgust. His comment and insight paved the way for others. Roje looked at everyone there.

"This war is getting out of hand. They can't expect to turn the entire population of children into their own personal weapons. That's just sick."

"And they're trying to do the exact same thing to us." Sameer pointed out from across Roje.

"Speaking of sick," Aram began from the other side of the table. "You all remember what happened to Zuko, right?" The even of the Agni Kai flashed before my eyes. I could barely remember Zuko's handsome face before his father had scarred him. It sent shivers down my spine. Everyone nodded. "And what was the reason?" I thought the question was rhetorical, so I kept quiet. Deepthi shifted her hands on the table top.

"Because he wouldn't stand and fight." Her answer was barely louder than a whisper. I was surprised that they all felt resentment towards their own nation. Zaida began again.

"Alright, we all agree. But the reason we had you all come here wasn't to gripe and and criticize the Fire Nation. You're all here because we can rise up and do something about it. We can help end this war. Five months ago, when Sankari and I were in the Earth Kingdom..." Zaida told our story from start to finish.;how we met, when I discovered that I was an earth-bender, the Freedom Fighters, and our return. She was a great public speaker and our audience was captivated and intrigued the whole time. Once she finished, the room was silent. They were all taking in what they had just learned.

"Is this true Sankari? Are you an earth-bender?" Zahil asked at last. I took a deep breath and stood tall and proud. I thought quickly how I was going to prove it. I looked at the eight sitting at my dining room table.

"Yes." I replied. Before any of them could ask me to show them, I faced away from the table. I drew my left arm back to my hip and then punched at the ground with my right. A section of the earth rose up, sending two floor boards flying into the wall. The looks on everyone's faces were priceless; awe, disbelief and wonder. It felt good to earth-bend again. It had been weeks since I was last able to do so freely.

"Are you the avatar?" Quin squinted at me. The same thought crossed my mind at least twice a day. I still didn't know for sure yet, but I was ready to embrace the fact that I very well could be.

"If I am the avatar," I started. "then I'll need to learn air and water next." This task was going to be near impossible. I should have just given up from the start. There was no way I could learn all four elements.

"But the air nomads are dead." Corrine reminded me. Exactly. Impossible. It was quiet for a brief moment. Zaida's green eyes kept darting around the room. I didn't know why she was acting so strangely all of a sudden. The girl glanced at the floor.

"No," she glanced back up. "not quite." What in the world was she talking about? Zaida removed her gloves that covered her entire arms and dropped them to the floor. I gasped. A blue streak ran through the middle of her arms. She lifted up her brown bangs entirely and revealed a blue arrow at the middle of her forehead. " I am an air nomad." Dead silence. Everyone in the room was equally shocked as I was. "My family were the only ones to escape the massacre. They eventually died off, and I'm the only one left." she explained. Zaida turned to me. "Kari, please forgive me for not being completely honest with you. You have to understand why I didn't tell you." she continued. "When I first met you, you were so loyal to the Fire Nation- I was afraid you would turn me in. But now you've changed and I know that I can trust you." I felt myself smile discreetly. "And if you truly are the avatar, I will teach you air-bending." She pledged herself to me. I realized that I wasn't angry with Zaida. She had a reason for keeping that secret. Knowing myself back then, I probably would have considered turning her in to the Fire Nation. I felt more confident now that I knew I would have someone to help me along the way.

"We're with you on this, Sankari." Aram finally spoke again once things were normal once more. "We _can _make a difference."

* * *

I opened the door to my room later that night. Azula was already inside, checking herself out in my full length mirror. She was a total ham at times; but I guess princesses were like that. "I'm bringing sexy back." she grinned at herself. What vanity. I made one of those noises where you breathe out through your nose but you can feel it in the back of your throat too.

"You're bringin something back." I shook my head, smiling. Azula turned around and glared at me, hands on her hips.

"What was that?" she asked, though I was pretty sure she had heard me. I felt my grin widening. I was quite the smart mouth.

"Don't worry about it." I laughed. Teasing the princess was much too fun. She always took everything so serious and literal.

"That's it!" Azula grinned devilishly. She chased me around my own room, which was quite sad really, about three or four times before finally knocking me down. No matter how fast I ran, she would always find a way to bring me down.

"Stop it!" I whined like a little girl just to be annoying. "Don't make me scream rape again." I threatened playfully. I drew in a deep breath but before I could even utter a pathetic vowel, our lips pressed together. I grew weak in the knees even though I was flat on my back. It seemed as though I could never think straight whenever we kissed.

"Scream rape. I dare you." Azula challenged. I sucked in lots of air, ready to make all within a fifty foot radius deaf.

"RA-MPH!" Her lips crushed against mine again. I should have known that she was going to do that. But Azula was always three steps ahead of me. I pulled back and looked at her. "You know we really shouldn't be careless about this. Someone could find out." I pointed out. Azula rolled her eyes at me as if I were a little kid that didn't understand a simple concept.

"It's not like my dad is gonna burst in at any minute." She jinxed us. Not a minute later, footsteps where heard outside of my door. Azula jumped five feet into the air or higher and stood a good seven feet away from me right before the door opened. Ozai walked in. "Hi daddy." Azula smiled nervously, trying to make it seem as if nothing had just occurred a mere thirty seconds ago. I was so glad that I did not collapse into a fit of laughter, though I wanted to so bad; it would have just made things odd and awkward. The Firelord gave his daughter and odd glance as if he too knew that she was off her rocker. I stood up, seeing as how laying on the floor in the presence of my leader would be disrespectful; because Ozai knew so much about respect.

"Hello Azula." He acknowledged her, but then turned his focus to me. "Sankari. I need to speak with you out here." I followed the Firelord out to the hallway. I wondered what he wanted to talk about. "I've noticed that you are an exceptionally talented and gifted young woman." He began, making my ego swell up again. "You are an excellent fire-bender and your loyalty to the Fire Nation is unquestionable." My stomach dropped at that part. Define 'unquestionable.'"And seeing as how you are one of my Generals now, I think this would be most appropriate. I would like you to attend the war meeting tomorrow."


	21. Metaphors Revealed

Thanks you guys for clarifying the whole PLO and PLF thing lol! I feel so aloof and un-edumacated xD! And I will agree that Jet was pretty much a terrorist, but in this fanfic I have decided to make him a descent boy! Also thanks to everyone who has reviewed: 45 comments so far, that's awesome! I do have some slightly sad news: This fanfic is slowly coming to and end. There will be about 4-6 chapters left and then the story will be completed :( But, I will make those 4-6 chapters the best chapters evar! :D Enjoy this chapter:  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

I rose with the sun that morning. Anticipation stirred inside of me. I was extremely nervous; I had never attended a war meeting before, and I didn't know what to expect. My General's outfit hung up in my closet, ready to go. I slipped on the uniform equipped with shoulder pads. It seemed like forever ago since I had worn my father's uniform. I felt more connected with his spirit whenever I had it on. I took a quick look in the mirror to make sure that I was presentable. Using a hair tie, I pulled my luscious locks into a ponytail. That way, I looked more professional. I breathed in deeply to still my beating heart. I was ready.

Besides Azula, I would be the youngest to attend the meeting; but the guards stationed outside of the war room knew me and didn't give me any problems on the way in. I was not the first to arrive but I wasn't the last either. There were already a handful of Admirals, Commanders and Generals like myself present. There was a large table in the center of the room. A full scale map of the world lay across it entirely. The room setup was similar to the throne room, only smaller. Ozai sat in the back on his own throne and Azula sat cross legged to his left. Zhao approached me. "General Sankari. He acknowledged me. I respectfully returned the greeting; he was older and had more experience after all. He lead me over to a seat on the left hand side of the table. "This is where your father used to sit." Zhao pulled out the chair for me. "It can be your place now." I thanked him and silently took my place. A few minutes later, the meeting began.

It started off on how the war was going so far; opinions, facts and things like that. Then it transitioned over to weapons and tactics. I decided it would be best if I stayed quiet; I needed to listen in to what they were planning, not provoke more ideas. I was glad that I had brought a small pad of paper and a pencil with me. I could jot down things and paraphrase certain highlights of the discussion. One of the Commanders was explaining the pros of having armed tanks in battle, when the Firelord interrupted him. "Sankari, are you writing all of this down?" His tone wasn't stern or forceful, it was full of wonder. I sheepishly looked up from my notepad.

"Yes sir. I don't want to forget anything crucial that we've covered." I answered honestly. O Ozai nodded, mulling things over.

"Hmm. Very proactive." He praised. Then the Firelord cast a stern glance at the rest of the military officials. "Why aren't any of you doing the same?" There was a great scramble as the men desperately searched for parchment to write upon. Azula rolled her eyes at me from her place next to her father. I wasn't the best lip-reader but I could understand her subliminal message. "Suck up." I glared at her, then made sure that no one else was looking. "Kiss ass!" I mouthed back. After all, she was a 'daddy's girl.'

The meeting continued on. My legs went numb from sitting down for so long. It felt like we had been there for days when it was really only a couple of hours. It was so hard to focus on everything due to my short attention span. I had never expected the majority of war meetings to be so dry. Underneath the table, my knee bounced up and down; I was a hyperactive kid, I needed to constantly be burning off energy. Lucky for my attention span, the talk turned over the Earth Kingdom.

"I believe that we should reinforce the number of soldiers in the Earth Kingdom." Zhao suggested. There were a few murmurs of agreement and opinions from the table.

"General Zhao," Ozai began, hands together at his throne. "The matter has already been taken care of by General Sankari." I blushed discreetly. I hoped that none present thought of me as a suck up then. I knew Azula did.

"Yes my lord, of course." Zhao bowed his head. "But I think you may have misinterpreted what I had meant." The Firelord waited for the General to go on. "You see, in order to take complete control over the other nations, we need to always show superior-ship. By increasing the amount of soldiers in the Earth Kingdom, it will plant a seed of fear into the people." Zhao explained metaphorically. "With the larger numbers controlling the cities, there will be no rebellions and we will ha their obedience." There were a lot of impressed murmurs in the room. I had to admit, Zhao had a way with words. The proposition might have even been a fair idea if there weren't as many faults with it. He was wrong in his idea. Numbers were irrelevant. Before even realizing what happened, my voice cut through the air.

"Fear alone is not enough to project our dominance over the Earth Kingdom." All eyes were on me; the fourteen year-old warrior girl. I did not know how I had managed to make my response sound so sophisticated and mature. I wanted to kick myself for speaking up, but I couldn't stop myself from going further. It was as if an invisible force pushed me to go on. "The people of the Earth Kingdom are strong willed, I've seen them." The citizens that I had meet were very much like how I had described. "They have resisted before and they can do it again. You cannot use sheer force and numbers to frighten and keep them at bay. They will keep fighting because they believe in a better tomorrow. You have to destroy what they stand for; give them nothing and take everything from them." I wanted to bite my tongue so badly, but the words kept spilling out uncontrollably. "You have to make them believe that they have nothing worth fighting for anymore-break them. Then the Earth Kingdom will be ours." I could feel my heart beating heavily inside my chest. It was so loud that I was sure just about everyone could hear it. No. What had I done? The whole room seemed very intrigued by my insight. Ozai sat grinning upon his throne. My stomach dropped.

"Interesting..." The Firelord mused, eying me in particular. What had I done? I had basically told them how to take over the Earth Kingdom. What was wrong with me? The last few words echoed in my mind: _the Earth Kingdom will be ours..._ I had lost sight of who I was in those short moments. I was speaking as if I would have thirteen months ago. Whose side was I on? I had known that going to the meeting would be risky. If only I had known that my disorder would kick in like that way it did. _Damn it!_ I cursed at myself. I was supposed to help end the war, not keep it going. I had screwed us all over. Zaida, myself, the Freedom Fighters and the Earth Kingdom people themselves.

A loud thud could be heard as I drove my fist into my wall. Azula was probably going to kill me for that, but I was not concerned about the renovation. I was extremely angry with myself. I couldn't believe that I had slipped; that I had intervened at the war meeting earlier. If only I had kept quiet. _Shit!_ I hit the wall another time. I felt so ashamed, as an Earth Kingdom citizen. I basically sold my nation out. I was in such disbelief. I wanted to destroy things. But anger wasn't the best outlet nor the answer. I lit candles and placed them around me in a circle. I knelt in the center, inhaling and exhaling deeply. The aroma of peaches filled the room and my stress level began to decrease. While humming a sacred hymn, I clasped my palms together. I bowed down on the floor and began to pray to Isis.

_Oh goddess, what do I do now? _I needed he guidance more than anything. What would I do next? I needed to know.

"Talking to the crocodile?" I glanced up to see red nail-polished feet. Azula. She knew I hated it when she interrupted me whenever I was doing something spiritual. I glared at her while rising back up to my knees.

"_Sobek,_ is the river god." I corrected her. "I don't think I'm having any water or irrigation problems today." I knew she was only kidding but it irritated me slightly how ignorant she could be about other beliefs. Like Azula and most others in the world, I believed in the spirits of nature that brought balance to our world; but I also picked up and collected variations of beliefs while traveling. I also believed in gods. Powerful deities ruling the universe alongside the spirits.

"Oh that's right." The princess shifted her weight onto her right leg. "It's so hard to keep track of your one-hundred and fourteen gods/goddesses."

"One-hundred and fifteen." I reminded her, while leaning into my right leg in the splits. Azula rolled her eyes and sighed heavily as if it didn't matter to her at all. She observed my yoga stretches for a few moments in silence. I happened to be doing a 'salutation to the sun' pose. "Why are you worshiping Re in the middle of the night?" she wondered. I bent my right knee forward and straightened my left leg back.

"It's _Ra_, sweetheart." I corrected her again. I couldn't tell if she was actually trying to remember or if she simply didn't care. Either way, it was nice of her to pretend to be knowledgeable about my beliefs. I began to blow out the candles that surrounded me. I felt more calm and slightly better. I rose up slowly.

"I love the way you say that." Azula grinned. I had to admit, the sun god did have a pretty cool name. I smiled while gathering up the candles. I was careful not to drip the wax all over the carpet; Azula would have had a heart attack on the spot.

"You have to say the name dramatically, Ra is the father god." I explained to her. Also, it was one of the less complicated names to pronounce so you had to give it some extra gusto to make it sound strong. Azula changed the subject.

"Speaking of dramatic," She took my hands and interlaced her fingers with mine. "Nice strategy at the meeting." She complimented me. "I knew deep down there was an ounce of you that wasn't completely weak." She quickly pulled my arms outward and down together so that they were almost hyper-extending. It was just like the game 'mercy' we all used to play as kids, only much worse. It hurt like a bitch. I had hurt my left wrist in a childhood injury; it had never been the same since it healed. And then, the pain rose the more force she applied. I had to drop down on my knees in order to resist the agony. She let go shortly after. I cradled my sore wrist. She had called me weak. I wasn't. I was strong, willed and determined. How could she say something like that? I felt a burning sensation in my eyes as my vision began to blur. No. I wouldn't. I couldn't. Not in front of her. That would just prove her point. I wouldn't give in.

"Ow! What the hell?" I glared at her from the ground. I shouldn't have yelled at her. I was angry and hurt. It wasn't exactly the princess' fault that she was naturely violent. She was mainly raised by her father, who taught her those types of things were okay. It wasn't her fault that Ozai had screwed her up as a kid. But it had hurt a lot, and I wanted her to know what she had done. Azula could see the redness around my eyes and softened. The girl felt remorse. She practically picked me up off the floor and held me in a comforting embrace.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, a bit bluntly, however. It should have been a historical moment because Azula rarely felt bad or apologized for her words or actions."I'm socially retarded sometimes. I don't meant to be and I'm trying really hard to work on it and I-" For the first time, I caught her off guard with a kiss. Of course I forgave her.

"And you say I don't shut up." I teased her gently. The princess smiled and blushed slightly. It was different seeing her as someone sweet and caring opposed to manipulative and tough. But I liked the change. Azula did have a sweet side, you just had to find it under the barbs and sarcasm.

"You're such a kid." She laughed, brushing the hair out of my face.

"You're such a bitch." I grinned playfully, showing her how much of a kid I could be.

I never knew that Azula liked to cuddle. It just didn't seem like her 'thing.' She felt warm and I realized it must have been her chi. I wondered why I didn't feel overheated because I was a fire-bender as well; but I was also and earth-bender. The fact that I could bend two elements could have affected my chi in some way. As selfish as it was, I wasn't living in the moment. I wasn't thinking about Azula, and I wasn't eve thinking about Azula, and I wasn't even thinking about the war meeting or the Fire Nation. The soothsayer's words from months ago took over my mind: Ancient_ text. Great Best. Pure just and true. _What did it mean? I had never really though about it since that night in the alley. I shot forwards in realization. An ancient text- a document! But I moved a little too quickly. My forehead collided with Azula's face. "Ow, my nose!" She exclaimed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Is it bleeding?" She tried to see for herself, but she obviously couldn't tell. I felt sort of bad for that one. _Well, we technically are even I guess. _I thought to myself.

"No, it's fine princess." I observed for her. "Sorry I just had an epiphany." Azula sat back down on the edge of my bed with me. She raised an eyebrow, giving me a look which told me that she didn't exactly follow.

"You? And epiphany?" She laughed dryly. Another thing I didn't like; she dumbed me down pretty often. I knew it was jut her way of teasing but it still didn't feel too great for my self esteem.

"Yes." I replied, standing up. "Come on, time for a field trip."

We descended the winding and twisting stairs into the palace catacombs. There was very little light, so I had to carry a small flame in the palm of my hand. Azula blasted every single cobweb in her path to fiery bits on our way down. "Do we have to do this now?" she complained. "It's late."

"You're point?" I asked, as we stepped onto flat ground. I didn't seem to care about the time. I was on to something and damn it, I was going to get to the bottom of it.

"I have a curfew, you know." I laughed. Azula didn't seem like the type to abide by the rules. The thought was pretty funny. I picked up a wooden torch fixed to the wall and lit the top of it on fire.

"Aww." I teased. "Daddy's widdle girl needs her beauty sweep?" I mocked in a baby voice as I continued down the darkened hallway. I started laughing even louder at my own joke but then hollered when Azula fire-bended me in the rear.

"Shut up!" she snapped. I jumped up and down, trying to smolder the flames while screaming 'Hot! Hot!' Making fun of the princess was fun, but painful.

We continued down the hallway until it opened up into a vast room with a ceiling nearly twenty feet high. Rows and rows of scrolls awaited my eager eyes. This was going to take a while. My eyes scanned the room. I could be there all night; there were so many papers and documents to sift through. I didn't know where to start. "What are you looking for?" Azula asked, glancing around as well. The amount of documents and files in the room was overwhelming. In all honesty, I didn not know what I was searching for. As I began to walk heedlessly through the rows, I felt a strong force guiding onward. I followed the strong sensation all over the massive room. I eventually stopped at a corner when the feeling died. Azula was close behind me. "Dead end." _Thank you, captain obvious. _I retorted in my mind. We were staring at large wooden doors. I grasped the handles and pulled. It wouldn't budge. I yanked harder. That didn't help at all. It was locked good. "Well," Azula inquired in the most fake chipper tone I had heard yet. She grabbed my sleeve and turned on her heels. "This grand adventure has gone off to a roaring _stop. _Time to go back upstairs with the living." I wasn't about to give up. I was down there for a reason; I needed to know why. Maybe if I burned it down...no that wouldn't do any good. The flames would've gotten out of control and I could have ended up burning whatever was behind it as well. I backed up a good six or seven feet, then charged at the door. I jumped up and broke it down with an aerial side-kick. Dust instantly rose up from the ground. I stepped through the threshold. "Or you could destroy my father's property..." Azula groaned after me.

The room inside was small, damp and dark. It was bare except for the gargantuan stone chest in the middle of the floor. I came closer and examined it. It wasn't a normal chest. How did it open? But most importantly, what was inside of it? "You have to fire-bend to open it. You can tell by its mechanism on the lock." Azula informed me. "Watch out." Quite courteous of her to give me a warning. The princess punched forward sending an array of blue flames at the chest. The lock glowed for a moment, then the contraption unhinged. The two of us peered inside. At the bottom, there was a case with silver dragons on it with ruby colored eyes. I bent over to retrieve it. The metal was cool to the touch. As soon as my skin made contact with the dragons, their eyes turned white and the case came undone. I gasped in awe. In my hands was a sacred scroll, perfectly in tact, that had been around for Agni knows how long. I could feel the energy return as I began to unravel the parchment. Once it was open, my eyes fell to the words inscribed at the top:

The White Dragon


	22. Who Am I?

Thanks everyone for reviewing! Sorry it took so freakin long. School hasn't been very nice to me, plus I have another evil speech to prepare for. It might take me slightly longer because I want the last few chapters to be really good and meaningful. This one kind of failed a bit on my part so sorry and please be patient with me! I am a chocolate covered blonde! (brunette :D) anyways... read and enjoy!  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

_Once in every century there is a being who possesses one of the greatest powers known to the world. These powers can make the weak strong and the already powerful nearly undefeated. If used and harnessed correctly, the individual can potentially become invincible. _My eyes scanned the sacred parchment. _This art is a difficult form to master in its entirety. It is unheard of or rare that any person has been able to learn the art completely. However, the user will still be quite powerful with only half the knowledge or less. Once the individual succumbs to the form, there is no return. At which at that point they become-_

"The White Dragon." Azula finished, reading over my shoulder. I pulled myself away from the paper and looked at her. "This isn't the first time I've heard of it before." She revealed, though it was certainly the first that I had. "Once you left, and I began training with my father, there had been...talk-because I had learned so much so fast." she explained to me. "You see, no other fire-bender has been able to cast blue flames before and I first produced lightning when I was just shy of thirteen." The princess went on. "Some thought that I was the next White Dragon, like the scroll says; my father was one of them. They brought me to a temple, but the sages disagreed. The spirit of the White Dragon did not linger within me." Azula seemed slightly disappointed for a brief moment. But it was most likely just my imagination. "Why did you want to know about it?" She asked curiously. I slowed my breathing and lied effortlessly.

"I had a...bizarre dream."

* * *

"Come on, try it again. You almost had it." Zaida encouraged me. She, myself and a few others were in the backyard of my house. She moved her hands around, controlling a swirling ball of air. "Think of something light, happy. You've got this Kari." Zaida passed on the ball to me. I carefully tried to contain it in my hands. For the first few moments, I had the swirling air in my command. I remembered the time that I had showed Azula up in front of the other kids. I thought of all the fun times she, Mai, Ty Lee and I had had. But suddenly it was hard to think of good times. So much pessimism clouded my mind. My father's death. My nation in peril. The fact that I was a 'double agent.' The conflicting emotions took its toll on my mental wellness. The swishing air ceased in my fingers. We had tried this simple technique nearly a dozen times. I never seemed to improve very much. All I could do was keep hold of the air for a short period of time. It made me frustrated. But I knew that I wasn't meant to learn from Zaida.

"I'm not the avatar." I breathed, barley louder than a whisper. Zaida and the others stopped. The emotion upon their faces appeared to be grim. The only sound I could hear was the whistling wind through the trees. The girl named Flame was the first to break the silence.

"You're not the avatar? But I was going to teach you water-" She clamped her hands over her mouth. She had obviously said something she wished she hadn't. Water? Could it be? I looked at the dark blond haired girl with wonder.

"What were you going to say?" I asked. Flame shook her head silently and refused to open her mouth again. "Come on," I gently coaxed. "No one's judging you." I saw her aqua colored eyes dart around to everyone present. Flame slowly brought her hands down from her face. It took the girl a moment to string together words.

"I'm a...water-bender." she admitted at last. A few gasped. They weren't as shocked as they were when they found out that Zaida was an air nomad in cognito, but it still surprised them. I looked at her peculiarly.

"But your name is Flame." I pointed out. I thought it was an odd enough name already. The girl looked a bit embarrassed and looked at the ground. I felt kind of bad asking the question out loud for all to hear.

"I know. There were no signs of me being different at birth. My parents thought I would grow up to be a fire-bender. That's what they were." She became quiet again. I took note on the 'were' part and understood immediately. She was without a family as well. So I wasn't the only with pain. There were others who felt and shared the hardships of life." After they were gone, I didn't think I could go anywhere else. I've lived here my whole life, and no one else has known what I truly am." I knew exactly what she was feeling. I felt the same when I was her age just a few years ago. I came up to the smaller girl and placed my hands on her shoulders.

"My condolences. I know what it's like. I have suffered too. But we won't suffer much longer." I glanced around at our friends gathered in the backyard. "We've got each other's backs. We're a family, and no one will be excluded." I could tell that my words had already inspired the girl. Her attitude changed and she seemed to be in better spirits. I was glad that I could help. "I'm blandished by the fact that you would help teach me water-bending." I smiled at her. "But, the avatar is not who I am."

"Anyone could have told you that." Zaida smirked out of nowhere. I looked at her strangely. Wait, what? I was thoroughly confused then. She knew that I wasn't the all powerful spiritual connection from our world to the next? And she didn't tell me? The nerve! My words were almost chocked in my throat as I stared the air nomad down.

"You knew...all along?" Zaida looked slightly guilty but she disregarded my agitated face and acted as if it was nothing. The girl went down into the splits like she randomly did from time to time.

"Uh, yeah." She laughed like everyone should have known. "It's not space rock science. You can't be the avatar, Kari because Avatar Roku was a fire-bender. " she explained. "And though technically you were an earth-bender first, Kyoshi was the avatar before. The next in the cycle would be and air-bender. You should really do your research." Damn I had been so stupid. I couldn't believe that I had almost convinced myself entirely that I was the avatar when I didn't even have an ounce of proof other than being able to bend two elements. How could I have been so arrogant? Then a sudden thought crossed my mind. I glanced back up at Zaida quickly and gasped, pointing a finger.

"You're the avatar!" The air nomad laughed hysterically and flopped down on the grass. What was so damn funny? I couldn't understand. After a few moments, Zaida got a hold of herself.

"Are you kidding me? There's no way I'm the avatar." she exclaimed. What? That made absolutely no sense; but then again, almost nothing did to me. Before I could open my mouth to object, Zaida furthered explained. "Believe me, I tried to bend the other elements. That did not work out. The only thing I'm good for is air!" She threw her arms open wide into the air just to show.

"But you're the last of the air nomads!" I protested. Zaida smiled mischievously again and said something that really made me think.

"You don't know that."

* * *

We had decided to meet every three days at my old house. We had all gathered there a handful of times and it had been about half a month since the first meeting. There was a lot to discuss. The war. What we could do to prevent it. What would happen to us if we interfered and most importantly; how would we be able to sabotage the Fire Nation without being caught. That night it was all strategy talk.

"What if we cut off the military's supply of necessities?" Quin was the fourth to suggest something.. The table murmured. Thoughts pooled all over the place. Sameer shook his head, turning the idea down.

"We'd have to stop a trade system. That means we'd have to physically leave the Fire Nation. There's no way we could all do that without arousing suspicion." He was cautious and right. That would be a hard thing to do. The group thought long and hard before coming up with anything else. Then, it was Zahil's moment to shine.

"Take out their ships." He blurted out suddenly. Everyone was all ears to what he had to say. "If we take out their ships in the docks, then they can't send more fleets out in them. It will take them months to repair and it will slow them down. Plus, it's something we can do in the heart of the nation." I was very impressed with his idea. Why hadn't I thought of that? Oh right, I wasn't the sharpest weapon in Mai's wardrobe. The idea was plausible. It was definitely something we could do easier because the ships were very close. Everyone present agreed that was what we would do. We just needed to come up with the details. How we would go about with the plan and when. Crucial things to consider. "We should come up with like, a team name too." Zahil suggested. The rest of the room and myself thought that it might be a fun idea. Coming up with a name was a little bit difficult for them at first.

"How about the 'embers of the White Dragon?" Sameer threw out, making a play on words. I had told everyone about the scroll and how I wasn't the true avatar. I believed that I was instead, the White Dragon. The scroll I had read the previous night described how one who was the White Dragon did not have to be from any particular nation. The last White Dragon had in fact been a water-bender. The candidate had to have extraordinary drive, talent and righteousness. Some traits that people believed that I had possessed. Plus if I had remembered correctly, the White Dragon was someone pure and just. Uncle Iroh had told me way back that the reason my flames were white was because I was pure at heart. That was enough evidence for me. Thought it was clever and I liked the name but I didn't want it to all go to my head. Though they thought of me as their leading figure, I didn't necessarily want to be their designated leader. It made me feel like I had complete authority and I didn't want to make them feel inferior to me.

"It has a certain ring to it," Roje admitted. "But if people discover that Kari is the White Dragon, then the name is going to blow our cover." The girl was right. That idea was tossed out. A few others followed such as: The Extinguishers-since we were trying to stop the Fire Nation. The Justice League- which I thought was a rather corny name. Aram put his word in eventually.

"Hey, I have an idea." Everyone listened. "We're all from the different nations." He pointed out. "We're the Four Nation Rebels." It was catchy and true. Everyone's face lit up as they mulled the name over to themselves, smiling the more they said it. It was settled then. We were now the Four Nation Rebels.

* * *

"I love your eyes." Azula stared at me. "They remind me of the sea after a storm." I had been told before how wondrous my dark gray eyes were. But I was extremely flattered when the princess told me so. We sat on her ever so famous red couch in her room.

"I like yours two." I told her. "They're shiny." She laughed. Her eyes were pretty shiny, just like real gold. I loved making her laugh. She seemed a lot less tense when she as able to relax and not take things so seriously. The princess leaned in to kiss me again. I needed this; a distraction to help me get through my life. An innocent little kiss quickly became more. We held each other tightly and I could feel her hand go through my hair. I often thought whether it was right or wrong to kiss someone of the same sex, let alone the princess, for crying out loud. But that night I felt like a true Fire Nation citizen: I didn't give a flying fuck. Neither of us had pulled away for air, and I wondered whether we would need to at all. In the intensity of it all, I could feel her hands slowly begin to pull at my pants. A red light flashed in my mind. It screamed 'WHOA THERE CHILD!' I jumped up from the couch in a flash and instantly began singing/interpretive dancing to a song Li Ann had taught me years back.

"Stop! Don't touch me there- these are my 'no-no' squares!" Azula looked at me as if I had just given birth to a retarded platypus-bear. I was speechless as well. I couldn't believe that I had just done that. How embarrassing! My cheeks felt as if they had been sun burned. "Uh...gottago!" I slurred my words and bolted out the door as quick as possible. No way was I going to stick around after that little episode. I must have been out of my mind. I could hear the princess' voice holler after me.

"Come back here and claim your kingdom!" Good gracious, I ran like the wind. I didn't care if people called me a prude, I had morals damn it, and I was going to stick to them. Rounding a corner, I found Mai walking down the hall towards me. I stopped right before crashing into her. I laughed nervously, trying to get over the really awkward moments that had happened previously. The melancholy girl didn't seem amused. The expression shown on her usually blank face was more serious than normal. I wondered what was up.

"We need to talk." The raven haired girl eyed me gravely.


	23. Guess Who's Back

Sorry guys, these last few chapters are going to take longer to update, 1.) because I want them to be great ( I probably could've done this one better :[) and 2.) I has school...blah! So here's another chapter. Enjoy! Read and review (but onyl if you want to :o...hey that rhymed :D I'm a poet and I didn't know it...omg again! Stop rhyming I meant it!...anybody want a peanut? (okay i'll stop now xD)  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

I followed Mai out onto a second story balcony nearby in the palace. I thought of nearly 100 different scenarios in my head; there was an issue of some kind, I just didn't know what. There was a brief silence between the two of us. I thought that the emotionless girl had forgotten how to speak. Then, Mai broke the silence. "So do you like being her bitch?" I blinked. I was kind of zoned out, so I really had no idea what we were discussing, or supposed to be discussing.

"What?" I was pulled out of my little world.

"You heard me." Mai boldly remarked, leaning back against the railing. "You like being her toy? A tool?" I understood what she was talking about then. I didn't like the tone she used. Though she appeared emotionless as normal, I could detect a hint of mockery in her voice.

"Mai, stop. You don't know-" She cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

"Actually I do know. I've known Azula longer. She doesn't love, she manipulates. You may think she's this really great person, but that's not exactly who she is. She's just going to end up using you." I couldn't believe the words that came from her mouth. What did she know? Was she the one whom Azula confessed her feelings towards? No. She wasn't. The girl was all barbs and sarcasm. What did she know about anyone when she didn't even know herself? I also knew the princess. She wouldn't do that...would she? Mai influenced my thoughts in both good and bad ways.

"This is none of your business." I glared at her, letting her know that I would not tolerate her badgering me. Mai seemed kind of pissed; I was slightly surprised because the dark haired girl rarely showed anger through expressions.

"This is as much of my business as it is yours." She replied curtly. How exactly was that so? I mean, she wasn't part of the relationship between Azula and I. Mai saw the confused look upon my face and went into detail. "This is going to fuck up everyone's mental status. Oh damn, I should have seen this coming sooner." She cursed the last part under her breath. What in the hell was she going on about? "Ty Lee is coming back. Like, any day now." My eyes widened at the mention of our acrobatic friend. It had been a long time since I had seen her. I had missed the bubbly girl spreading joy.

"Seriously?" I asked eagerly, wanting to make sure Mai wasn't pranking me. The girl put her head in her hands. I couldn't wait to see Ty again. Then I began to think; I know right? Personal first for me. "Wait, what does that have to do with anything?" I asked her. Mai paused for a moment, speechless. She reorganized her thoughts and shook her head at me.

"It doesn't matter." she insisted, though I knew she was hiding something from me. "I just don't think you and Azula being together is the best idea. It just spells disaster in general." I was annoyed. Mai had dragged me out there only to ridicule me? What was the girl's problem? She was so damn negative all the time. It was hard for me to quell my anger and frustration.

"What's it to you?" I started to go off on her. "Why can't you just give me my space? This is my life you know." I could tell that Mai was beginning to lose her cool as well while I interrogated her. We spoke over one another, each trying to be heard.

"Kari, think rationally now. I'm not trying to intrude- no I'm not. It's just that this might not end well. Would you listen to-" But I didn't want to listen to her. I wanted her to hear me out. She had no right to invade in my personal life. Our voices began to rise in volume.

"Why do you care anyway?" I snapped. I was not expecting what would come next from my friend.

"Because I care about _you!_" I froze. I had never seen Mai express emotion like the way she had just done. But for whatever reason, concern and sincerity played upon her pale white face. It shocked me that she had shouted too. The volume of Mai's voice was always low and controlled. "You're my best friend, Kari." I never once thought that the raven haired girl referred to people as her 'friends' more likely acquaintances. "I don't want you to get hurt." She put her hands on my shoulders. My temper had returned to normal and my breathing rate slowed down. "Kari, you and Azula are polar opposites. I know they say that opposites attract. But you see, opposites attract, then blow up in your face." Mai continued. "You've never seen what Azula is really like, and I don't think you want to. You two are different. For better and for worse. You're a benign person, Kari. Remember that."

* * *

"Alright, people let's go! I want to see smoke coming out of your ears!" I loudly motivated my teammates. The ten of us were all in my backyard. I watched the fire-benders practice their moves while Zaida and Flame did forms on their own for their elements. Though it was nearly sunset and the air was cooler, we could all feel the heat from the workout. If we were going to fight the Fire Nation, then we needed to be prepared like the Fire-Nation. I pushed myself as well as the rest of them to go above and beyond to master new techniques. We'd need everything we could learn to survive this war.

I was impressed with my team. It was clear that they were tired, but not one of them faltered in their kicks, nor punches. Just like me, each one of them had a certain drive. As the sky grew darker, I decided to call it quits for the night. "Everyone inside." The nine of them followed me inside my house and we all gathered around the dinning room table. Though they did not want to make it obvious, they were relieved that the training session was over. They were strong, but they had been pushing themselves so hard for the past so many weeks.

"We're ready to put our plan in motion." Zaida grinned from the head of the table, beside me. The other eight cheered and reacted enthusiastically, most of the noise came from Sameer and Aram. "This is only going to work if everyone is on board; in order to take out the ships, we need to do it when we can't get caught. We need to do so under the cover of darkness."

The plan was set; we would sabotage the ships in the dock one night while the whole kingdom was asleep. It was simple and to the point. Of course it was going to be hard once we got to the docks; there would probably be obstacles such as night watchmen, and then the idea of messing with the ships altogether. I was thinking of when the best night to put our plan into action, as I rocked back in my desk chair. My eyes were fixed on the candles on top of the desk. Chakashi clawed at his cage in the corner of my room, the bars making different pitches as he hit them. I realized that I hadn't written back to jet and it had been nearly two months. I wondered if he had worried since I had not responded to his letter. I rocked back and forth a few times before making any type of connection. _Candle light! _I thought. _Of course!_ I made sure that there was little to no outside light in my room. I wanted it to be as dark as possible. Then I yanked open one of the drawers and retrieved Jet's letter. I lit the peach scented candle with my finger, watching as a flickering orange light danced on the wick. I placed the parchment behind the flame and waited to see something. On the back of Jet's letter, a secret note was written, only visible by candle light:

_I knew you'd figure it out. You're a smart_

_girl, Karuna. I know you said that our messages didn't_

_run a high risk of getting intercepted, but I didn't want to_

_take that chance and ruin everything we've worked for. These _

_are tough times you know. Anyway, have you and Zaida been_

_able to infiltrate the Fire Nation? Any news in particular or _

_warnings of any kind? If there's anything you can tell us to_

_help the Earth Kingdom in any which way, shape or form,_

_definitely let us know. I can't even begin to say how brave_

_we all think you two are for doing this. Be safe, be smart,_

_and watch what you do. Hope to here from you again soon._

After reading the hidden letter, I found a piece of paper and began to write my own back to him. My quil scribbled across the parchment:

_It took me a little longer than expected to decipher_

_what you meant, but I did decode it. There's good _

_news and bad news: the bad news is that the _

_Fire Nation have new weapons and strategies to bring _

_into the Earth Kingdom, such as tanks. It would be _

_devastating for those machines to destroy our home. Please_

_find a way to prepare the people against them. The good_

_news is that Zaida and I have found others who are _

_willing to defy their nation in order to have a brighter_

_tomorrow. We're planning an attack on the Fire Nation _

_from where we are. Hopeflly it will take place in about _

_two weeks. We miss everyone and want you all to be careful. _

_We'll try to stop them temporarily from over here._

I folded up the paper and went over to the bird cage. I let my hawk out onto my left arm and slipped the parchment into the compartment fastened on the bird's side. I walked over to the window with him."Take this to Jet." I whispered to Chakashi. The intelligent bird looked at me one last time with gleaming amber eyes then pushed off from my arm and took flight. As I watched the bird gracefully soar through the air. I was filled with a feeling of hope inside of me.

* * *

The leaves were golden and red, autumn colors. They fell from the trees and gathered in piles on the dewy grass. Though it was early in the morning, there was a slight wind. It blew at the tips of my hair, making them appear to be floating in the air. Azula and I were taking a walk, hand in hand, when we spotted someone in the distance that forced us to let go. Talking to the depressed looking Mai, was a girl with long brown hair. It was braided and fell down to her lower back. The girl was garbed in nothing but pink. Large gray eyes popped out on her sill rounded face. Mai had been right. Ty had come home.

It seems the two had been talking for a while before Azula and I happened upon them. Mai gave me a look that I couldn't quite decode while Azula approached them first. Ty Lee was overjoyed to see Azula. She hugged the princess tenderly just like her bubbly self way back when. I couldn't help but smile. Ty was the optimistic one that we had needed over the past two years and now she had finally returned. I went forward to join them, expecting a hug in return. But when Ty Lee looked up at me with eyes that could see int the soul, I did not recognize her. The bubbly expression had faded. It all seemed to change before my eyes in slow motion. There was no kindness in her eyes. It seemed as if all the happiness had drained from the girl as her eyes locked into mine. I felt uneasy, as if a thousand eyes were on me instead of merely two. I had only begun to realize the significance in what Mai had said to me the other night. I felt a part of myself slip away as Ty Lee stared me down in an unusual manner. The words that rolled off her tongue were cold and curt. "Oh," I could see something stirring behind her large gray eyes. Something that I didn't think was possible for her. Resentment. "It's you..."


	24. From Bad to Total Shitstorm

Again everyone I apologize for the long waits. Normally I have a new chapter every three-five days but schoolwork is being a pain in the arse these days :O so please bear with me. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Only so many more will follow it :D  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

I couldn't understand why Ty Lee had been so hostile towards me the other day. Had I done something wrong? Had I looked at her funny? It made me feel even worse about myself because Ty wasn't one to be mean. Things were definitely not how they used to be. I began to grow weary of myself. As it drew closer to the night of the planned sabotage, the more patriotic I felt towards the Fire Nation. I couldn't explain why. I was on edge most of the time as well. Could I really be going against the nation that developed and nurtured me?

Lately I had been taking things so seriously. Zaida practically forbade me from attending any more war meetings, though the call was not her's to make. She was concerned with my well being and noticed how numb I had become after the first meeting. It was also hard to sleep at night, knowing that I would be going against the nation that I had known my whole life, and essentially Azula as well. The thought alone hurt the most. We trusted one another greatly. It made me feel horrible knowing that I was breaking her trust from behind her back. But the worst part; what if we were caught? We would all most likely received the death penalty. Our offense would be treason. And if they discovered anything about Zaida and Flame, I couldn't even imagine what would become of the two. Anxiety and uncertainty inhabited my body. It was to the point where I almost couldn't bear it.

Thunk! The black ball hit the top of my canopy and fell back into my outstretched hand. It was the same ball that Mai, Ty Lee and I used to play wall ball years ago. Back then, there were no problems. We were kids with nothing to worry about. We thought our lives were perfect, issue free. But now we were practically adults. Everything was, indeed, not perfect.

My door creaked open, and leaning against the siding was Azula. I tossed the ball to the floor and sat up. Azula invited herself in and flopped down next to me on my bed. "Hi." She grinned, looking calm and collected. I laughed subtly. It was a bit strange to see the princess in such a good mood. The reason why she was so relaxed was because she was tired. She stifled a yawn. "I swear by my pretty little hair piece, if Dad makes me go to another all day politician event, I will end him." I laughed again at her threat. It wasn't so intimidating as it would've been because she hadn't put much emphasis into it. The princess had made herself comfortable on one of my many pillows and soon her eyes were closed. She looked so peaceful and beautiful when she slept.

"Azula?" I poked her, trying to see if she had really fallen asleep in three seconds flat or if she was simply resting. The girl moved slightly at my touch, but not much.

"Azulon's ghost is gonna roam the halls in his old and decrepit ways." Was her response. Wow. I stared at her for a few moments with nothing to say before the two of us starting laughing uncontrollably. 'Decrepit' was a funny word and the princess could be extremely funny when she wasn't so serious all the time.

"You seem a little delirious there, princess. You need sleep." I teased. "Though I would let you crash here I have a feeling you'd kick me off my own bed if I do." I only had a 'full' size bed which meant that one of us would be sleeping on the floor; and we all know who that would be. Yours truly. "Come on, time to go back to your room." I dragged a very reluctant Azula across my floor. She was being very uncooperative which made the process longer than it needed to be. I knew she was tired, but it wouldn't kill the girl to wake up for thirty seconds so that she could walk back to her room.

By the time we got to Azula's room, she had ended up in my arms. I felt pretty silly; I mean, she wasn't sick or dying. The moment felt overly dramatic. Seconds later, Azula was alert and awake. Why couldn't she have been so ten minutes before? I would never even begin to understand that girl. She hopped out of my grasp. "Aw, you didn't have to carry me all the way." She smiled sweetly.

"Well you really didn't give me a choice." I shrugged. She would've still been out cold in my room had I not hauled her ass down the hallway. The princess had been rather difficult, claiming that she simply couldn't go on, though her room was just down the hall. She laughed at my retort and brushed a strand of hair over my ear. " I love you." She peered into my eyes like open doors. It felt as if someone struck my heart and brain with a hammer. Dust my ears deceive me? Had she just said the 'L' word?...Not _that _'L' word, my friends. But love? Coming from Azula? I braced myself for a moment and waited for the apocalypse. But the longer I waited, the more I realized that she meant what she said. And stranger still, I found myself succumbing to the moment.

"I love you too." Her forehead rested against mine for a brief moment. The kiss that followed was different from any of the others that had happened. It blew each and every one of them away. The kiss was filled with passion and, well, love. I never had suspected Azula to open up to anyone like that, let alone me. She really was a compassionate person. Except, all those years of hate and pain made it impossible for her to remain that way entirely. Those moments, when we were holding each other tightly, were the most serene that I would ever have. It seemed too perfect. But the moment ended as I could feel her pulling at my bottom lip and then releasing. As strange as it was, I felt kind of complete in a way. I smiled, and she did the same. Then she unexpectedly punched me in the shoulder. I winced. The girl hit hard.

"That's for giving me rug-burn across your floor." She pretended to pout before retreating into her room. She stole one more glance at me. "Night."

"Night." I nodded, as she closed the door. It was a historical moment. I didn't know if Azula had told anyone that she loved them. Well, maybe her dad, if him even. I felt privileged to have a special place in the princess' heart. So I had found love. I could only imagine how my father would've reacted, and what he would have said. The thought seemed humorous to me. I giggled like a school girl to myself as I began to walk back along the red carpeted hallway. I cracked my toes as I tread back over the carpet. I was barefoot, and the floor's texture felt soft and comforting. My eyes looked ahead to where a pair of feet where planted on the ground. I followed them up to see Zaida; staring straight at me, without blinking and possibly without breathing.

It startled me for a moment because I had not heard anyone nearby. She did like to sneak up on people though. But the look on her face wasn't one that seemed warm or friendly. My insides dropped as I began to make the connection in my head. _Shit! _I swore in my mind. There was no other conclusion; she must've have seen what had happened only moments before. That was the only logical explanation that answered why she looked so shocked and livid. I sucked in a nervous breath and tried to sedate her. " I know this looks bad," I began slowly, trying not to trip over my words.

"What are you doing?" Her voice was just a horse whisper. I could tell already that this talk we were about to have wasn't going to be easy nor pleasant. But I wouldn't back down then. I need her to listen to me. I needed her to know that I had everything under control. I got myself into the mess, I would get myself out.

"But I need you need to hear me out." I finished, taking my turn again. This was going to be awkward on so many levels.

"Are you insane?" Her voice was significantly louder, then. I had not been expecting that. Zaida had never raised her voice at me like that. Even when we had our little spats, it was all mild argument. I had a bad feeling things were going to go from bad to worse. I raised my hands up in surrender. Truth was, I really didn't want to fight her about this. It was almost too personal. I didn't want to get into it.

"Zaida, I know it's-"

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" She suddenly shouted at me. I had never heard her use language like that before; an indicator that she was truly pissed. "What were you thinking? Hell, where you even thinking?" She ridiculed me. "Are you going to risk everything, we've worked on? For this? For her?" For once, I did not know how to address my friend. She was extremely angry with me and rightfully so. I had kept my relationship with Azula a secret. No one knew. Not even my closest friends, apart from Mai. Zaida had every right to let me have it. Her face was suddenly filled with concern. "Don't you realize the consequences? You're playing right into her hands. She's going to use you. This could destroy our rebellion. You have to stop this. It's going to destroy you, it's going to destroy me-" That was enough for me. My mind did not register the rest of her sentence. I no longer felt passive in our altercation. I was now aggressive. I would stand up for myself. I would make her listen to me..

"This isn't about you!" I found myself yelling right back. "And it's not about the others either."

" Not it's not about me. But what you're doing is selfish." She agreed, then tried guilt tripping me. Too bad for her, that strategy didn't work. It only made me more riled up.

"You don't get it do you?" I waited for her to try and answer me, though I knew she wouldn't. I wanted her to open her mouth-to attempt an answer. Any answer for all I cared. But of course she wouldn't, because she didn't get it. "Azula_ loves_ me, Zaida! And I feel the same way about her. I'm not going to up and throw all of this away just for some...idiotic rebellion!" I paused. My anger suddenly ceased and my breathing rate increased. I had not meant to say that last part. I realized too late that it had been the wrong choice of words. Zaida's green eyes widened and I knew she couldn't look me in the eye after that. There was silence. For much too long in my opinion. Finally, Zaida shook her head, still glaring at me.

"Alright...alright." She laughed dryly; her voice was back to normal but I could tell it was taking a lot for her to keep it at that level. "I know where _your_ allegiance lies." Those were her final words, as she retreated down the hall and was gone; leaving me with the absolute worse feeling of all. Guilt.

* * *

So much was on my mind that afternoon; my altercation with Zaida. The thought of misleading my friends. More and more just seemed to keep piling up. It was so stressful that I almost hadn't slept a wink the previous night. I kept myself up thinking about everything and nothing all at once. Did I really want any of this? Responsibility? Leadership? I longed for a time when I didn't have to worry about the big things in life. When there was always someone else to take care of me and tell me things would be alright. I longed to be a child again. All I wanted was to run barefoot through the fields, playing a game with my father. I wanted life to be that simple again. But sadly, things were not exactly that simple.

I found Mai on a balcony, overlooking the city. I wanted to approach her, but didn't know if I should seeing as how we didn't exactly meet eye to eye the other day. It was quiet for a while and I guessed that was how she wanted things to be for the time being. There was a slight wind, gently stirring up our hair. "Nice day, huh?" I asked from a few feet behind her. I didn't get a reply. I bit my tongue and figured that Mai wasn't in the mood for chatting at the moment. I respected her decision. I was completely zoned out by the time the girl chose to finally speak.

"Things are different know, Sankari. You're running out of time." Her back was still to me. What was she talking about? I began to feel anxious again. No matter where I went it seemed as though I was always reminded of the important choices that I had to make. But what didn't make sense to me was why Mai was addressing the topic with me. She only knew about the one issue we were arguing about a couple of days ago. What did she mean? "Two trees grow in a conflicted forest, but which one will you climb? They're waiting for an answer, Kari. You need to get your priorities straight." The words were barely more than monotone. I knew that I had heard those words before somewhere. The were hauntingly familiar. Mai was starting to scare me, especially since she was turned away from me. I couldn't see her face. That bothered me.

"What do you mean?" I gathered up my courage to ask. I was seriously worried and freaked out. Did everyone know about my problems? Something didn't feel right. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I knew something was off.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Kari." Mai continued. "You'll have to eventually decide who's side you're on." My heat began to speed up. This didn't feel right; not in the least bit. I was scared. How did she know so much? Why did she know? The way she spoke worried me, as if she knew something that I didn't.

"Because if you don't...then I will!" When Mai whirled around, I noticed something wrong right off the bat that almost made me holler. Instead of dark charcoal eyes, uncomfortable yellow ones greeted me. I was horrified. This was wrong. She reached quickly for something within her maroon robes and hurled it at me. I knew what was happening but I couldn't react. Why weren't my reflexes working? All I could do was watch. I could see the knife cutting through the air as it sailed towards me. All of a sudden, the blade disappeared. I was no longer on the balcony. The room was dark, ominous even. I could barely see anything thing around me. Then I noticed the door; it was slightly ajar; a line of bright light shone through. An eye. A gray iris, peering in through the crack. Never once did it blink. Intruding. Watching. Knowing. It blinked once and then things became blurry. Then all I could see was the eye before it vanished and then the knife was at my throat.


	25. Time is Running Out

Blah! School is yucky! I have another frickin speech to do and it's driving me nuts! Sorry for the delay again :0 high school is a bitch! lol sorry this chapter's a little short but I'll make it up to you by adding an additional chapter or two that I wasn't planning on adding. Fair deal? :D well anyway enjoy!  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

I forced myself into a sitting position, arms flailing. I was hyperventilating and there was even sweat beginning to trickle down my forehead and neck. My heart beat like a drum. My eyes scanned the scene; it was dark, but I could still see. It was my own room. I heaved a sigh of relief. It felt so real. Every minute of it. But it was only my imagination. It was only a dream. No, only a nightmare. Somehow I understood everything that had occurred in my head moments ago. Especially the eye.

"Ah shit, my nose!" Azula groaned from the other side of the bed. She held her hand up to her face. I must have accidentally struck her once I woke myself up. She didn't look too happy about the wake up call. Especially since it still wasn't morning yet. "It's bad enough that I was dreaming about pink rabbits and fucking rainbows, and then I get socked in the nose. What is it with the nose? What is it with the fucking nose?" She hissed. Yeah she was definitely pissed. I began to shrink down in stature.

"Sorry." My apology was weak and hoarse. I did feel bad. I became grumpy whenever my sleep was interrupted. It made sense for others to feel the same way.

"Yeah, well 'sorry' isn't going to fix my broken nose." The princess exaggerated, stealing one of the pillows on my side. Normally I would have fought for it back, but not that night. I was deep in thought for a change.

"It's just that I had this dream." I started to explain to her. I could hear Azula grumbling from underneath a pillow. I probably should have waited until morning. She wasn't in a very good mood; not that it would have been much different if I had waited till later.

"Oh really?" She pretended to sound intrigued. "I had a dream that I was able to _sleep_." I didn't laugh at her sarcasm either. I was focused on analyzing the dream that I had pulled myself away from. The eye had stuck out the most.

I remembered a few mornings before, Azula and I were sitting together on her couch again. When I said sitting I meant, lying next to each other in a fashion that clearly stated that we were more than just friends. I remembered the door being ajar, ever so slightly. Glancing into the crack I could see something peering in, then as soon as my gaze fell to it, it disappeared. It took me a few moments to put the pieces together, but I knew this was the only conclusion.

"Ty Lee saw us." I blurted out. I wasn't sure if I had meant to or not. I spoke out loud a lot when ever I thought. Azula rolled over, mumbling as she did so.

"What about a pink slut?" I was tempted to laugh, but I didn't. I wasn't exactly in the mood for a good joke. There was lots to think about. I gave the princess a glare and shook my head at her.

"Azula, I'm serious." I told her. It all made sense then. What Mai meant when she said how mine and Azula's relationship was going to screw everything up. Even when the dark haired girl paused awkwardly when I asked her how Ty Lee's return was going to effect anything. "I don't know why but, I think she's pissed that we're together." That had to have been the reason. I couldn't think of any other logical conclusion that would fit the situation. Azula sat up. She didn't seem grouchy or agitated anymore. She seemed to be thinking as well.

"Hmm," she began. "That would explain why she was being a bitch to you these past couple of days, but it just doesn't seem like Ty to do something like that. Plus I don't think she likes girls, I mean, ever other minute she's got a boy wrapped around her finger." She smiled in the darkness. The princess bit her lip. "If anything, I think she's jealous that you 'replaced' her. You see, before the three of us know you, Ty Lee was my best friend. Then you joined our group and I hung out with you more. And since she's been gone for the past two years, she probably figured that you became my new best friend." I stopped to think about it. That could also be the case. I never even considered that. Plus, I really didn't have any proof that there was an eye in the door. That was what I saw in my dream. It didn't mean that Ty Lee had actually been there. I was probably over complicating things. I did have a lot on my mind after all. And it was most likely causing me to be paranoid. "Try not to work yourself up about it." Azula suggested. "I'm going back to sleep now, babe. Night." She kissed my forehead and sank back onto the mattress. I sighed wanting to do the same, but I couldn't. Not after the dream. Besides, I was too alert to fall back asleep. It would take hours for me, and by that time it wouldn't be worth it anymore. And for all I knew, it would be sunrise in just a few measly hours. Instead, I sat in silence, pondering on my dream.

It was a warning. I finally understood the metaphor that had been eating away at my mind for months. Two trees- two sides in a conflicted forest-conflicted world. Which one (side) would I climb (chose)? The old man was a genius. A confusing genius, but a brilliant one at that. I wish that I had understood it sooner. Then maybe I could have avoided the arguments with Mai and Zaida. Maybe if I had known that I would have trouble picking sides, then I could've found a way to keep myself true to the Freedom Fighters. I took a look a the bigger picture; the exact location I was in, with Azula, mind you, would not have convinced anyone that I was fighting against the Fire Nation. What Zaida had said was true. I was risking a lot just to be with the princess. And for what? If she found out about the Four Nation Rebels because of me, all of us would go down in ways unimaginable. Then we'd lose our chance to help the other nations rise against the tyranny. It felt as if the weight of the nations was on my shoulders. One wrong move, and everything would turn to chaos. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't rest. I needed help.

* * *

I slipped out of the palace after I made sure that Azula had fallen back asleep. It's not that I didn't want her to know I was going out-she wouldn't have cared about that. It would be the fact that I could potentially disturb her from her sleep that I was worried about. I didn't want her to bite my head off. I needed to be alone, to reflect on everything. I needed peace of mind. There was no better spot for this, than the Cherry Tree beside the Coy Pond that Zuko and I favored. I sat down cross-legged underneath it and began to meditate.

I inhaled and then after a few moments, exhaled. I maintained a strong breathing rate during my meditation. The steady beat of my heart was the only sound I could hear in the wee hours of that morning. I cleared my mind, emptying it out of everything that I could have possibly been thinking about. It wasn't easy; there was so much for me to think about. But as my breathing continued, I could feel myself slowly detaching myself from the world. It felt like pure bliss. The Nirvana-like feeling only lasted a short while.

Soon I found myself staring into darkness; it was strange because I couldn't see anything else around me. I was still sitting cross-legged, but I was myself. I was in a different state. Seconds later, I was staring up at a white-face warrior woman with black and purple eye shadow and a green robe. As air-headed as I could be, there was no way I could mistake her for someone else. Avatar Kyoshi.

_"You are trouble, Karuna." _She spoke, almost as if reading my soul. _"Why?" _I felt overwhelmed at first. It wasn't everyday you get to speak with a previous avatar. For a brief moment I felt unworthy to be in her presence. Then I took a deep breath and forced myself to answer the question.

"Avatar Kyoshi," I began, giving her full respect. "I don't know what to do. I'm torn in two. I know that I need to help my people, but I've grown emotionally attached to this place." I referred to the Fire Nation." The previous avatar looked at me with great interest. She studied me for a few moments before responding to my answer.

_" I understand. As an earth-bender like yourself, I felt compelled to do the right thing, to save my people as well. Decisions like these are hard to make. But ask yourself this: which side is more worth fighting for?" _I thought about what Kyoshi said. Which one was worth fighting for? Would I fight to stay with Azula? Or would I fight to bring peace to the world? I knew which choice was more important in the long run. I knew which choice was the wisest to make, but I still couldn't bring myself to decide.

"But no matter what I choose, someone's going to get hurt." My voice was barely a whisper as I came to realization. I never thought it would come to this. Avatar Kyoshi looked at me, and smiled weakly. There was sorrow behind her eyes; almost as if she knew the same pain that overtook me.

_" Sacrifices must be made in order to overcome obstacles in life, Karuna." _The warrior woman bestowed her knowledge upon me. _"Sometimes one must learn to let go in order to save themselves as well as others. You are not alone in this, my child. The avatar must also learn to detach himself and let go in order to reach his full potential. " _The previous avatar held out a scroll encased by two silver dragons with ruby red eyes. She offered it out to me. I touched the cold metal with a shaky hand. _" You have everything you need within you to bring balance to the world. But the choice is yours to make." _Kyoshi began to drift away. I wanted to call her back. There were so much more I wanted to ask her. There was still so much I needed to know. But I couldn't bring her back. "_ I know you will do the right thing, Karuna." _I watched her disappear into the nothingness which surrounded me. I was alone once more.

* * *

My eyes flashed open. I was still cross-legged underneath the Cherry Tree. But in my hands, I held the White Dragon Scroll. Everything that had happened moments ago had been for real. I _had_ spoken to a previous avatar. Kyoshi _had _consulted with me. My fingers tightened around the cool, silver metal. I felt something stirring in the base of my stomach and I knew what needed to be done.

I never thought that I would be reentering the miniature dojo built into the side of our house. When I was little, it was the room that I had learned and trained in with my father. It had been years since I had set foot in it. Once my father had passed on, I looked on the extra room as if it were taboo. But at the time, it was probably the only place where I could practice my art in peace. I unraveled the scroll to it's full length and marveled at the knowledge that it held on there. Though there were seldom diagrams on there, it was still very descriptive. The art was like Zen, in a way; it was difficult to teach. It had to be experienced in order to full understand it. After skimming the first section of the scroll, I backed up and took a fighting stance. I kept my mind and body in thought, as the scroll instructed and began my form.

Not once, as I went through the forms of martial arts I had learned, did I think about anything other than fighting. I kept my eye on the prize. It was as if I was a machine; kicking, punching, turning, blocking, crouching, flipping, repeat. I couldn't tell you how many times my feet had left the ground for more than a few scarce moments. My joints, muscles and bones should have been aching at that point. But they weren't. Maybe it was because I could no longer feel pain. Or maybe it was because I had worked myself so hard that I had become numb. Either way, I wasn't all that concerned. After all, I shouldn't have been the one to worry about pain. That was the Fire Nation's job. If they wanted fire, they were going to get it. If they wanted to have the world, it was theirs; over my dead body first. Once I made myself even stronger, once I learned how to control the form, they would be in trouble. The Fire Nation would need to be prepared to face off the White Dragon.


	26. The End is Nigh: Part I

Again I am soooooooo (a million times) sorry! sophomore year is a pain in the ass! but I will make more of an effort to update more frequently. I promise. here's another chapter (the series is slowly coming to an end D: ) so I hope you enjoy!  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

I had practically passed out when Zaida found me on the floor of my dojo, hours later. Neither of us knew why the other was there. An awkward silence sealed the was tension as both of us weren't exactly sure what to do. I decided to be the proactive one. I tightened my arm muscles and pushed my body off of the floor. I slowly began to approach her. "I'm sorry." I began to apologize pathetically from the ground. "You were right, I should have listened you-" But to my surprise, Zaida interrupted me with her own thoughts.

"Of course I'm right." She glared at me for a moment, then relaxed. "But you're not the one who should apologize. I went too far the other night, and I'm sorry." I was a bit shocked to hear her apology. She had seemed so bent on badgering me for my poor decisions. I deserved to be screamed at the other night, yet hear Zaida was, being the true friend and returning to me. It was quiet once more in the room. "So, you wanna tell me what you were doing here?" she asked, eying the patches of earth and singed floor all around the room. She probably already guessed, but I answered her question anyway.

"Getting stronger." I gasped for breath. My response didn't seem to support my cause in any which shape or form. I was exhausted. After all, I hadn't slept in hours. I pulled myself up to my knees, and heaved a deep sigh. "I've reconsidered everything." I told her. "I'm back in." That was enough for Zaida. She extended her hand, a smile upon her face as she began to pull me up.

"Well then, we're going to need you up a running, General."

* * *

It was two days until our sabotage plan. I was nervous. Extremely nervous. My stomach kept stirring, causing me to feel uneasy. The more time I spent around Azula, the more worried I grew. Should I have distanced myself from her? Was it even in the slightest bit, a good idea to start a relationship with the princess? In this case, no. Maybe if I had never known anything about my past. Maybe if everything was the way it had been five years ago. But things were different now. They would never, ever be the same again.

My muscles still ached from the intense workouts that I had been doing. Well, more intense than usual. Working myself to exhaustion and beyond, even. I was afraid that when the time finally came, I wouldn't be able to follow through with the plan. I was afraid of letting everyone down. I was afraid of being a coward. The more I over analyzed things, the more I began to doubt myself. Would I follow through? Would I be able to over come my conflicted conscience? Questions I didn't know the answers too. But maybe, just maybe, there was someone else who did.

I didn't wear my uniform that day. I wasn't in the mood for over-dressing. A simple pair of pants and a plain shirt worked fine for me. I didn't bother with shoes, not that I ever did, really. I found Corrine and Aram talking outside as I hurried down the front steps of the palace. I approached the too. I had a task for them. They stopped their conversation and looked at me with great interest.

"Hey, can you too do me a favor?" I asked. The two looked at one another, then shrugged. " I want you to kind of lead the meeting this afternoon. I need to head out somewhere." Corrine had an expression of uncertainty upon her pretty face.

"Us?" she asked, making sure she had heard me right. I nodded at the both of them.

"You two are strong leaders and sharp minded as well. I trust you both. It's just for one day." Aram nodded, his hazel eyes meeting mine.

"Of course. We'll see you soon then, Sankari." He smiled at me

* * *

I was grateful that the two agreed to take over for me. Normally I wouldn't have missed practice or one of our meeting; they were important. But what I had in mind for that day was important as well. I should have been content since I had received guidance from Kyoshi. I should have been satisfied. It should have been enough for me. But it was me we were talking about, and I was a pretty odd child. I needed someone else. I needed more perspective, or guidance if you will. I needed someone to confide in. And I had just the right person in mind.

It had been years since I had stepped through the Maple wood gate into a lush green garden. I couldn't remember exactly when the last time I had been there. I had to have been young still. It had also been a long time since I had wandered into the town since I remained on the palace grounds most of the time. I vaguely recalled racing down the dirt path to this specific house, with my dad trailing behind me. It had been like my second home, and as I shut the gate behind me, I felt a sense of belonging once more. There was no need to knock on the front door. I was always welcomed here. I proceeded into the backyard. So long since I had set foot in the property. Much too long, indeed.

My toes curled around the the soft grass as I came to a halt in the center of the garden area. There was a stream winding around, dribbling over rocks into a small pond far in the back. There was a roomy patio, lined with every flower imaginable. I wasn't surprised, it had always been that way, even since I was little. Rocking back in one of the chairs on the wooden patio, was the only woman whom I would ever call 'mother'. Her long dark hair floated in the air as the day's gentle breeze kicked in. In her arms was her newborn baby, wrapped in cloth. When she caught sight of me, her still expression transformed into one of subtle joy.

"Sankari." Li Ann's emerald eyes met mine. I was overjoyed to see her as well. It had been so long. I ran over to hug her, making sure I didn't accidentally crush her child while I did so. The baby was beautiful; she looked just like Li Ann except as a baby. "It's so good to see you again, sweetheart." She cooed.

"Likewise." I returned the grin. "She's adorable. What's her name?" I studied her baby some more. Li Ann smiled proudly. I knew that she and her husband, Makoto must have been overjoyed.

"Ami." She answered. It was a beautiful name for a beautiful baby. Li Ann offered her daughter out to me. "Would you like you to hold her?" I was thrilled. Babies were wonderful, and I hadn't really had the chance to hold many. I accepted the offer and sat down with Ami. The baby instantly took a liking to me and made the most adorable cooing noises at me. The two of us talked for a long time. I filled her in on all the exciting things that I partook in once I was moved into the palace. I told her about all wacky situations and adventures I had gotten myself and others into. It was nice catching up with her again.

"I'm so glad you're doing well." And then came the next question. "How's Azula?" I still don't know if she somehow knew or if it was just an honest question. But I was willing to bet the first option; she did have a mother's intuition now.

"She's great." I responded a little too quickly and happily. I'm pretty sure my voice even cracked while answering. I realized all too late my mistake, for Li Ann raised an eyebrow and smiled strangely. It took me a good few moments before it finally clicked.

"What?" I asked her, my suspicion arousing. She did not respond. Silence."What?" I asked again, raising my pitch slightly, thought I had a pretty good idea I knew what she meant by that expression. Li Ann continued to smile.

"I support every type of lifestyle." She reassured me. I knew exactly where she was going with this. I couldn't believe I was having this conversation. Not that it was all the horrible, I just never pictured it taking place in the way that it was.

"Mom!" I whined, glaring at her. I would have to admit it was slightly embarrassing. Li Ann and I could talk to each other about anything, but it still was just a a bit unsettling. She raised both hands in the air in mock surrender.

"Hey, the first step to acceptance is denial." she pointed out. She did have a point; I couldn't argue with that logic. Li Ann smirked once more. "I'm not going to give you a hard time about it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'm happy for you kiddo." She eased up on the teasing. I could relax again. Then Li Ann became a bit more serious. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but why'd you come here?" I never took offense to anything she had said before, but her question made me think. Why had I come there? Was it because I needed guidance, or was it because I just needed comfort?

"I...need help." I started off. I began to pour out my soul to her, right there and then. Revealing everything that happened to me after my twelfth birthday, and I mean everything. It took me nearly an hour to describe everything, pausing only to coo back at Ami, who was still in my lap. I left out practically nothing, except for the details about Azula and I, of course. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my chest once I had opened up to her. "Truth is, I don't know what to do. I don't have all the right answers. I'm lost." Li Ann sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating my story. She then spoke.

"I knew you were a true earth-bender, Sankari. There's no doubt about that. You gave off this certain vibe that only those of the Earth Kingdom can give off. I knew even before your father told me so. It was wrong of me to keep it hidden from you, but with your father passing, I didn't want to traumatize you, so I never mentioned it." Li Ann sighed. She repositioned in her chair. " I'm going to be quite frank with you, Sankari." Li Ann went on, and my ears perked up. "What our nation is doing right now, I don't like it. Not one bit. This wasn't the great nation we all once new. It's become something different, something alien. And I'm afraid it keeps changing for worse." She admitted. " I know you feel conflicted because you belong to two nations, but this is beyond that, Sankari. What you need to do now, is what any good person should do; the right thing."

* * *

There was a knock at my door that night. I stood up from my desk and went to see who it was. Roje, Sameer and Zahil stood outside. I let them in, wondering what they needed. "Hey guys, what's up?" I asked.

"Just wanted to fill you in on the meeting." Sameer explained. I nodded. "Everyone was there except for Quin. I think he might have been sick. Zaida, with the help of Aram and Corrine, figured out a system for tomorrow night." That was the night for our sabotage plan. "If you talk to Zaida, she'll fill you in." He suggested. I definitely would do so; that would be important to know for tomorrow.

"Also," Zahil added. "I wanted to bring something to your attention." His tone was serious, so I made sure that I was listening intently. "We've just discovered that there's another group. A secret police force. The Order of the Flames." The hair on my back stood on end. I wasn't sure why, but something about that name made me feel uneasy. "I think we all have to be extremely careful, they might have been tipped off about us." The three looked concerned, so of course I was as well. We couldn't afford to be caught, especially when we were so close. But I wasn't going to back down just because of talk.

"Lay low until tomorrow night. Don't try to arouse any suspicion." I warned. " If we stick to the shadows, they won't find us."

* * *

I paced back and forth in my room. Only a measly few hours until the sabotage. The sun was getting ready to set and our plan wasn't supposed to unfold until after nightfall. There was a lookout point where I was supposed to meet Zaida and Flame at first before we signaled that the coast was clear for the others. I was filled with excitement. But I was anxious and nervous as well. If things went well that night, then the Fire Nation wouldn't be able to send out ships to conquer more Earth Kingdom land for a while. I felt proud that I was helping my nation behind the Fire Nation's back. But in a way, I almost felt like a traitor. But I wasn't worried about sed 'treachery.' All that mattered now was that I did the right thing. That was all that counted after all.

I had a lot on my mind as I slipped on dark clothing. The less visible I was that night, the better. There was no way I wanted to get caught. I would most likely die a very morbid death, and that would not be a fun experience. I wanted to stay alive a little bit longer. My fingers tapped nervously on top of my desk. The taps were rhythmic. Just like fire. I closed my eyes, envisioning it all. And that's when I began to piece some things together. It was slow at first, but the more I began to realize, the more I knew we were in deep shit. I ran out of my room. I needed to warn the others.

The hallways were empty as I raced down them. This was very strange. Dead silence greeted me. My palms tingled and began to sweat. This didn't seem right to me. Why were things so unearthly quiet? Yes, something was, infact, very wrong. I heard a noise behind me. It sounded like soft footsteps treading on the carpet. I turned on my heels and followed in curiously. The sound kept cutting in and out, so it was hard to pin point its exact location. I turned down one hall. A dead end. The footsteps stopped. _Weird... _I thought. Then the sinking feeling returned in my stomach. Right then and there, I knew I needed to get out of the palace. Before I could even pivot on my feet, something rammed into the side of my head. I had been struck hard. The force caused me to drop to the ground. Searing pain shot up the left side of my head. I tried to stand, but the pain was overwhelming. It all happened so fast. And the last thing I remembered seeing as my vision blurred, were hands reaching down to me, as everything began to go black.


	27. The End Is Nigh: Part II

Yay! hope you guys are happy that I updated a bit quicker than previous times. I know that I've left the past few chapters in cliff hangers and I know you all probably want to chase after me with pitch forks, torches and any other violent objects as if I were Frankensteins's monster but that is the point of an author. It is our jobs to piss our readers off at times xD lol that was my little rant and now it is over. Hope you all enjoy this next chapter! (p.s. I started re-watching avatar with my lil sis :D we both loooovvveee it!)  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

Voices came from every which way. They were muffled and low, but there was no doubt that they were there. All I could do was listen. It was if I was dreaming. I didn't remember much after I fell. I was almost certain that I was moving soon afterward though. It felt as though I was rocking in a sea of tranquility. My head rolled to the side of my right shoulder as I could just barely make out the red carpeted floor of the palace hallways. I was definitely moving, but to where? My mind wasn't able to think that far ahead at that point. All I could do was lie helplessly, and wait to see what unfolded next. Emptiness. A black abyss.

My eyelids slowly pulled back as light peered into my pupils. I shifted onto my right and felt the muscles in my back tense. I heaved a deep sigh; I felt very tired When I came to, I was staring at the ceiling in my room. I was lying on my bed too. I couldn't recall anything that had happened before. It was if I hadn't remembered anything from waking up only seconds before. How long had I been out for. I didn't remember lying down to take a nap. Especially at that time, I didn't have room in my schedule for sleep. I was thoroughly confused.

As I pulled myself up into a seated position, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. My hand ran up past my eyebrow, and that's when I stopped. I held up my hand there for a moment; I could feel a large sore on the left side of my forehead. And like magic, it all came back to me. I had been struck by someone...or something. Had they figured it all out? Did someone know about our plans? Nothing was right. Everything was chaotic. I needed to get out of there, and fast. But most importantly, I had to warn everyone else.

I lept off of my bed with a quickness and bolted for the door. I thundered down the hallway. Like earlier, it was empty. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? In certain situations it was always better to assume to the worst, so that's exactly what I did. I was rounding a a large corridor corner, when I felt something pull me back. I jerked to the left from the quick movement. I made a ruckus; I flailed my arms in all directions as I tried to squirm away from their grasp.

"Stop, stop, STOP! It's me!" a familiar voice barked. I sharply turned around to be staring face to face with my melancholy friend. I did a double take.

"Mai?" She grasped my shoulders tightly and peered into my eyes with her dark irises. I was so confused. She stared me down for a few seconds before glancing up at the side of my head.

"Sorry bout that." She nodded, not sounding too apologetic. I gave her a funny look before my slow mind was able to make the connection. I opened my mouth but before I could whine, object or even draw in breath for that matter, she hushed me. "Yes, that was me. But I did what I had to do. They _know, _Sankari." My heart sank. So my assumption was right after all. "You shouldn't have gotten caught up with this in the first place, but if you lie low and stay here, they won't suspect you at all. What were you even thinking? Do you know how incredibly stupid it is to try and pull a stunt like that? I mean, when did you begin to have such a love for the Earth Kingdom anyway?" She began to lecture me. Then, it was my turn to stop her.

"Whoa, whoa whoa." I cut Mai off. "You want me to just stay here and do nothing?" She didn't respond. Instead, she heaved a great sigh. "You want me to abandon them?" I could feel something inside me stir, making my tone a bit more on edge than it should have been.

"Kari, don't do this." Mai warned. "I don't think you understand that-"

"No, _you _don't understand!" I snapped at her all of a sudden. "I'm not going to leave them to fend on their own just to protect myself. I'm not that kind of person, Mai. This is my destiny, and I'm not going to run away from it. I'm from the Earth Kingdom, and I'm going to help my people."Mai's eyes widened. Though I was one of the few who had actually seen her display true emotion, it was still a bit of a surprise. It was very rare when she let herself be a normal human being. As harsh as it was, it was a waste of time trying to explain this to her. I didn't know what else I could say to her. I turned away, I didn't know how much time I had left. The Rebels could have already been caught and sentenced to some horrible fate. I would not let myself be the cause of it.

"You're going to throw it all away?" Mai called me back. I stopped, regretting every moment I let slip away. "Everything you've ever known? All that you've worked for?" I shook my head at her words. They were meaningless to me.

"None of that matters anymore, Mai." I could have sworn that I could see something glisten on her cheek.

"Not even us...?" It was barely a whisper. I would have missed it, had I been careless. I felt a small twinge of pain inside of me. Of course Mai mattered to me, and she always would. She was someone who always seemed to be on the same page as me. Whatever page that happened to be, that is. I truly wished that the decision wasn't so hard to make. I could never throw away her friendship. Never. And I wasn't planning on doing so either.

"Mai, you know I would never swear off any of you. You all mean the world to me." I loved all of my friends and the thought of being separated from them nearly killed me."But I need to do this." She cleared her throat.

"What about Azula?" Dead silence. My eyes darted around the room, trying to search for an answer, but I had nothing. What about her? That was the question of the night. The very question, in fact, that I had been avoiding since we all had formed the Four Nation Rebels.

"I'll worry about it when the time comes." Was my answer I will admit that it was not a good response either. In all honesty, I really didn't know. "Goodbye Mai." Everyone was counting on me, and I might not be able to save them in time. This was the last straw.

"Kari!" Mai called out after me, as I tried for a second time to exit. My major problem; I just couldn't seem to let go. My head turned to glance at her once more, almost robotically. It took most of my mental strength to pull away from everything. I opened my mouth to make one more thing clear.

"Sankari is gone, Mai. She died once I learned the truth. I am Karuna of the Earth Kingdom." I turned on my heels and ran.

* * *

It was pitch black outside once I exited the palace. So far things weren't looking very good. Especially since I didn't know what time it was. Zaida and Flame weren't stationed at the entrance of the palace like they should have been. I wondered why. Then I began to worry. Was I too late? Had something gone wrong? I kept moving, assuming that the two had grown impatient from waiting on me.

I ran on top the outside walk way of the palace. It was almost like the Great Wall, except not nearly as long. I couldn't risk being spotted on the ground. Though I was garbed in all black, I didn't want to take any chances. I heard a whistling sound from up above, and presumed it was only the wind. But the more I ran, the louder the noise became. Moments later, a figure dropped down from the rooftops and landed crouched down directly in my path. I skidded to a halt. The figure rose to their feet; long, dark hair billowed in the night's cool wind. Green eyes like the stone itself pierced into my soul. I drew in an uncontrolled breath. Jade. So She was one of the few that knew.

All the rumors and stories had been right. This girl was unbelievable. Only short seconds after we had made eye contact, she was two inches from breaking my neck with a hook-kick. Fortunately, I went into a back-bend and avoided her attack. If I had moved a split second later, I wouldn't have been so lucky. And as soon as I came back up from my bend, I was blocking and evading for my life. If some thought that I was fast, then they must not have ever met Jade. That woman was a force not to be reckoned with. I could barely get any punches or hits in. At what was worse, her blocks hurt; she put so much power in them that they were almost like strikes themselves. Only a few minutes into our quarrel and my wrists hurt like a bitch.

It took me a little longer than necessary to realize that I could overpower her. I was a bender for fucks sake. What was wrong with me? Why hadn't I thought of it sooner? I punched a barrage of white flames at her. Jade ducked, spreading her legs out sideways so that she could lower herself to the ground in the splits. I might have singed a few hairs, but nothing that did any real damage. It didn't seem to phase her that I was a fire-bender and she was not. I didn't think it really mattered to her. I would have been toast if I was not able to bend. She was a much better fighter than I was, and I figured that it was because she had even better combat training than I had.

Jade wasn't going to give up anytime soon, but I couldn't waste anymore time in a fight with her. My friends could have been in mortal danger at that very moment. I didn't have time for anything. Thinking quickly, I stamped my foot on the ground, sending the stone from underneath Jade up. The girl was shocked for a moment, as she teetered backwards. She didn't fall of course, but the distraction was enough so that I could make a quick escape. I took off running down the stone pathway. Why was this happening? Had the Fates decided that I was a mere mortal not worthy of pity? Was I no longer in favor of the gods? Maybe it was something that I had done to make them angry. I cursed my rotten luck. But I thanked them anyway for my ability to think so quickly.

There was another path similar to it, except not connected to the palace. There was about a twelve foot gap between it and the one which I was already on. I jumped onto the side ledge which rose about three inches higher than the rest of the path; I got ready to make a jump for it. But just then, my foot stepped down funny on the stone. It felt as if something sparked in my ankle. On top of the short pain, the bottoms of my feet where sweaty from the chase and anticipation. I slipped.

I fell from the high stone wall. As I went down I forced my hands forward. And to my sheer dumb luck, I caught onto part of the ledge of a balcony. I was safe for now. I thanked my lucky stars. Maybe the gods decided to take it easy on me finally. I pressed down on the stone ledge with both of my forearms and then some. But for whatever reason, I wouldn't budge. I tried again. I moved up maybe two inches before sinking back to where I started originally. Brilliant. I was stuck.

_What the hell? _I berated myself in my mind. I had done probably hundreds of thousands of push ups and pull ups in my fourteen years of existence. Why in the flying fuck was I not able to pull myself up over the ledge? I could feel a lump in my throat. I looked over my left shoulder; it was at least a twenty foot drop to the ground, but it was dark so maybe even more. There was no way I was going to make the fall without breaking some bones. There had to be a way out of this mess. I pulled my knees up an in close to my chest. I tried reaching my leg up to brace against the ledge. But my legs wouldn't stretch that far that night. My worst fears were coming true right before my eyes. I was helpless in a time of need.

Why wasn't I able to get out of this? It was so simple. That's when I caught sight of my right hand; it was shaking as I held on to the ledge. My disease was taking over me. I began to wonder how long it would be before I fell to my doom. A few moments later, I heard footsteps coming from somewhere near inside the palace. That could either be a good or bad thing. I decided to take my chances, I mean I was hanging off of a balcony. "Hey!" I called out to whoever might be there. "Help!" The footsteps grew louder as the person came to the opening of the balcony a few moments later. Since there was dim light all I could tell was that the person was a girl. I tried to lift myself up just a bit higher so that I could get a closer look. She had a round face, large eyes and a long braid...shit it was Ty Lee.

The pink-clad girl hurried out to see what the problem was. She looked around with large gray eyes, trying to see who had called out. Then she heard my grunts as I failed again and again to hoist myself over the ledge. She moved towards me, then stopped as soon as the light touched my face. She saw who I was and didn't move another inch towards me. She just stared at me, and it drove me nuts that I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Please, Ty." I begged. I was in no position to demand so I figured that groveling seemed appropriate. Maybe, just maybe, she'd find it in her heart to forgive me for whatever I had done to make her hate me. Always thinking optimistically, I was. Well, I thought wrong. Ty Lee didn't care that I was in a life or death situation. In fact, she found it amusing. I watched in horror as the once kind girl let a smirk play upon her face. My dismay was _entertainment _for her. The smirk remained on her face as she began to slowly back-step over to the balcony entrance, eyes never leaving mine. 'No' her lips formed the silent word. _No!_ My insides screamed as I watched my once best friend turn on me. It was enough to make one go mad.

What happened? What the hell happened over those five years? What had gone wrong? I was able to pin point the exact moment. It was when I became a General. I wanted to blame Ozai with all of my heart. It would have been easy to. Hell it would have been easy to blame anything that was alive as long as it wasn't me. But somehow deep inside I knew it was my own fault. _Everything is my fault. _I cursed myself. _I should have died 11 years ago in my village's tragedy! _Then as if I was blessed with a miracle, I swung my legs to one side, causing them to land over the other side of the ledge. I kept pulling and pushing until I flipped over onto the balcony. Safe at last. I began to laugh like an idiot once I realized that I wasn't in any danger anymore. I had done it! _Maybe I am good for something._ I thought to myself.

I remembered the possibility of my friends being in trouble and I jumped back up to my feet in an instant. They might still be okay, but I didn't know for sure. And with me assisting them, we just might have had a fighting chance. Just as I was planning my next move, Jade came out of nowhere, well actually somewhere up above to be exact. She gave me a death stare as she stood in her fighting stance. I heaved a heavy sigh. _Not again..._ So the ninja girl wanted a round two. This time, I was ready.


	28. The End IS Nigh: Part III

Yay! I'm getting better at updating hehe! This is one of the last few chapter (only two more-ish idk yet lol) It's a bit long, but I wanted to add more but I figured it's already alot of words why annoy my readers any more. **Warning: **There is a character death in this chapter, so if you've grown attached to one of the characters then you might be a little sad when the tragedy happens. So enjoy part III of the finale!  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

Three bruises and a countless amount of short breaths later, Jade and I were still fighting head-to-head on top of the wall. Even with my bending, I was hardly a match for this girl. I couldn't rely on brute strength to help me. Jade was clever and seemed to always find a way to come out two steps ahead of me. I tried to move as much as possible during our fight. Movement was actually a key concept when fighting. I also couldn't afford to waste time in one place. What really bothered me was that fact that this girl had not uttered one word once. It did make sense though; you don't normally make small talk with an opponent in a heated match. But I at least expected some taunts, especially because she had the upper hand. But then it occurred to me; maybe she didn't even know how to speak. I mean, it wasn't completely necessary to learn how to speak to be able to fight. And Jade knew a cornucopia of fighting arts, so her trainers might not have thought it crucial for her to learn social skills. But still as I blocked, side-stepped and punched, it still bothered me.

Finally, the docks were within my view. We still weren't that close, but I could see them in the darkness; they were only a little ways away. _Hang on guys! _I thought, as I crouched down, evading a sudo from Jade. She realized her strike was ineffective and reacted quickly, throwing a low side-kick to where I was then. Instinctively, I threw my arms over my head and flipped backwards. I skidded once I landed a few feet back, right hand on the stone ground bracing myself from falling. I glanced up as fast as I could to ready myself, but Jade was quicker. Much quicker.

She caught me with a spinning kick and I stumbled back onto the path. I lay slumped on the ground. The ninja girl came down above me, ready to attack with an aerial strike. I placed my palms on the stone ground and bucked my legs up, kicking her over me. Jade was redirected over me. The girl landed on the ledge of the path, but her footing was off. Her green eyes flashed ever so slightly, as she knew that she couldn't re-balance herself in that short of time. One foot was already three-fourths of the way off of the pathway. It was a higher drop on the walls where we stood then. And she and I both knew there would be nothing she could grab onto to stop her fall; it would surely be the death of her. In an instant, I sprang up from the ground and ran to the edge. This would not happen on my watch. I wasn't a murderer. I reached out as far as I could and grabbed Jade's arm just as she began to descend.

Her eyes widened as my hand grabbed her arm. I realized that my action was probably a big mistake. This girl had just tried to kill me moments ago. Why did I care whether or not she fell to her death? _Because I'm not like them, _I told myself. She was a human being, just like myself. Unlike the Fire Nation, I possessed mercy. Jade's feet were still pressed against the side of the wall as her green eyes burned into mine, wondering what I would do next. I pulled the girl back up onto the path. Though she wasn't heavy in the least bit, I still had to haul her up over the ledge. She landed in a crouched position. I had just helped the enemy. Damn I was stupid. Jade looked up at me from the ground with her bright green eyes. I waited for her to begin the attack again. But to my surprise, the warrior girl did not get back up. When our eyes met once more, she simply nodded her head towards me; it was curt, but I could see the gratefulness hidden within her blank stare. She was letting me go freely. Things were beginning to take a turn for the better...or for the worse.

There was a cluster formed at the base of the outer gates. The wall had gradually decreased in height by that point. I hopped over the side and slid all the way down; which wasn't very far down anymore. Though they were still a handful of meters away, I was able to recognize them almost immediately. It was Zaida and a few others. I ran to them, thanking the gods that they were alright.

"Kari!" Roje called out to me as I drew closer. Her expression changed in a flash. Her light brown eyes widened in the dim light. "Watch out!" she suddenly hollered. My eyes darted around wildly, but not fast enough. I was struck in the back of my neck, the brain stem to be exact. The back of my head exploded in fiery hot pain. Out of the shadows, an ominous figure lept out and took me to the ground. A face plant onto the dirt ground was the next thing that happened to me.

Moments later, I was yanked back onto my feet. My arms were tightly locked behind me. When I looked up, my friends had been taken captive as well. Deepthi kept Zaida still, though she squirmed and pulled like no other. She gripped the air-bender's throat, ready to burn her at will. To my horror, Naomi held Roje captive, clamping a hand over the smaller girl's mouth to keep her from shouting out obscenities. And to my far left, Sameer struggled against Kenzo's headlock. The one who restrained me was Razi; I had to hand it to him, he was much stronger than he appeared. I would definitely have fought back, but he was doing the same thing that Deepthi was. As long as I was in his grasp, I couldn't fight my way out of it. We were all stuck. Trapped. And it was all because of me.

"What happened to you?" Sameer breathed, glaring particularly at Naomi. The same question ran through my mind as well. Where did it all go wrong? It seemed like just yesterday when Zuko and I played against her and Aram in Fireball. Where did the time go? Everything seemed to slip away just like that. "What happened to all of you?" he growled through gritted teeth. Kenzo tightened the headlock, pushing Sameer further down into the ground; silencing him.

"I know what happened." I replied, eyes never leaving our captors. The pieces had finally fit together the way a puzzle should end. I hesitated for a moment, drawing things out even longer. "Isn't that right...Quin?" I let his name slide out of my mouth like a slippery serpent dipped in oil; like the snake he was. It all made sense. There was no other way the secret police would have found out about us. No one in the Four Nation Rebels was a snitch; at least no one but him. He was gone the meeting the night before. It didn't seem like a big deal then, but it was so much more. He sold us out. But why? Then, we heard clapping. But it was only coming from one person. All heads turned to the gates. And then, the bastard himself emerged from the darkness.

"Well, well, well." His clapping ceased once he was clearly visible. "Looks like we're finally catchin' on. Brilliant, simply brilliant Sankari. Detective of the year." he mocked me. I exchanged glances with my friends. Sameer's light brown eyes were wide and fixated on Quin; seconds later, they narrowed as he stared down his old teammate. His eyes were now filled with resentment.

"You asshole!" Zaida hissed a few feet over. She was in disbelief. She and Quin were kind of a thing, and I could only imagine how she felt towards him then. Discovering that someone you had feelings for was the scum of the earth wasn't something you wanted to find out.

"Now that you've graciously admitted to your treacherous acts, you bitch," I spat, not regretting the words that came out of my mouth. "My only question now is why?" Quin pretended to be offended by my harsh words. But in my opinion, he should have been. I did not want what I said to be taken lightly.

"Whoa, whoa. No need to get _steamed _up over nothing." He smiled at his own stupid joke. Then a more serious expression took over his face. "You know we can't let you and your little resistance get away, Sankari. The Fire Nation will win this war."

_No, over my dead body! _My mind reeled. Roje bit down on Naomi's hand, causing the taller girl to pull away in shock.

"You're wrong! This whole nation is wrong! Are you blind to this?" She shrieked. Quin raised an eyebrow.

"Am I?" Typical of someone like him. Stirring up more questions instead of answering them. There were so many things I wanted to yell; profanities mainly, but I tried to quell my anger. I really tried. "So..." Quin changed the subject, pacing around us. "Where's the rest of your friends?" he asked. That was one thing that I was also wondering. Where was everyone else?

"We're not going to tell you anything." Zaida snapped, speaking for everyone. A wry smile creeped up Quin's lips as he approached her. He wasn't some cute boy anymore; he was a down-right creep.

"Oh, I think you will." He gave her a dark look. Zaida shifted sideways and kicked outward quickly; striking him right where it counts. The boy did his best not to double over. He had to have been holding it all in. Zaida could kick like no other.

"You thought wrong." She glared. "This place is evil, you're an ass, and I'm not selling anyone out." My insides were cheering on my air-bender friend for her loyalty and courage. If looks could kill, Quin would have won the record for most people slaughtered in mere seconds.

"Oh you're just digging your own grave, doll-face." His laugh was forced. The more I listened to him, the more I began to hate him. "As well as your friends!" He nodded to our captors, signaling even. I felt compelled to do something, this could be the end.

"No! Not them!" I blurted out. "I'm the instigator. I'm the one you want." I would rather die than watch my friends do so by my own hand. I was that ready to sacrifice myself. I wouldn't be able to go on, knowing that I was a weak bystander.

"Your time will come soon enough." Quin replied. "Jade!" He shouted out to the darkness. Moments later, the ninja girl appeared; only this time, she didn't seem as intimidating. "Escort them on their journey to the Boiling Rock." I cringed. The Boiling Rock; the Fire Nation's highest security prison. Though they weren't being sentenced to death, it still would not be a very pleasant experience. Deepthi, Kenzo and Naomi began to drag my friends with them. Jade remained where she stood, not showing any signs of movement. The other three stopped. She glanced at me with watchful green eyes. We all waited. Some more impatient than others. "Jade, let's go." Quin ordered, a bit more curtly the second time. But the girl did not budge; I wondered why she was so hesitant. And when she slowly moved her head from side to side, I understood that she was no longer going to take orders from him. Quin breathed out very slowly, almost bull-like as we all could hear him exhale loud and clear. Anger began seep onto his face.

"What? Are you really that stupid?" Naomi remarked, very rudely. "Maybe you need to be locked away with these traitorous scum as well." Then it all happened within a blink of an eye.

"You used to be so NICE!" Sameer roared, elbowing Kenzo in the stomach. The wind was knocked out of the boy and he released the hold on him. Sameer full-blown charged at Naomi, who still held Roje captive. I'm not sure what his intentions were, and I soon realized that even he hadn't fully planned out his next move. Was he going to attack Naomi? Slap some sense into her? I didn't know. But before he could get close enough, Quin moved swiftly, striking him with an uppercut that broke the boy's jaw. The rest of us heard a loud crack and shuddered. Quin then took his newly flaming hand and brought it down in a hammer fist. He missed by mere centimeters, but Sameer's efforts were in vein. Survival at that point was very slim; Quin was an exceptionally good fire-bender, and unlike Sameer, he did not suffer from compulsiveness. The shaggy haired teen gripped Sameer by the short hair on his head, hearing him holler as his scalp began to burn. The last quick movements were made; Quin drove his whole right arm into Sameer's stomach, then his left as well. My friend's eyes widened in pain. He drew in one last breath and slumped to the ground. He did not get back up.

My eyes couldn't tear away. Sameer's upper half looked as if he had been attacked by rabid, wild animals. His Fire Nation uniform was all ripped and torn in various parts and blood soaked through the material. There must have been so much blood; the colors of his uniform were dark, and we could all clearly see the crimson liquid. The curved blades attached to Quin's sleeves showed no ounce of silver on them, down to his hands which were dripping with the blood of an innocent boy.

My senses were all numbed though I could still hear Zaida's gasps and Roje's screams. As I took in all of this, my stomach dropped. It was one of the worst feelings in the world. I had just watched my childhood friend be slain before my eyes. I was in so much disbelief that I almost couldn't breathe. Quin looked up from his work on the ground; a few specks of blood were on his chin. He lifted his head up.

"This is what we do to those who don't cooperate, Jade. What we do to traitors." The scary part was that I could not see an ounce of remorse in the boy's face. He was a cold-blooded killer.

"Well you can forget about my contribution to your unit, Quin. I'm not taking orders from you anymore." Jade announced. She unsheathed two samurai swords from the scabbards attached to her back. The girl gripped the handles with white knuckles. "This has gone far enough." She glared at Quin, voice strong. "I will not obliterate my honor with people like you." She lunged at him with her blades, but Kenzo stepped in, blocking her path. The thin boy waved his hands in circular motions, trying to ward off the warrior girl with his flames. If he though that was going to stop her, then he was in for a treat. One by one, the members of the Order of the Flames joined the fight. Jade was facing off Naomi and Kenzo while Roje and Zaida broke free to duke it out with the others as well.

Seeing the opportune time to disappear, Quin backed out, a smirk playing across his thin face. He slipped away unnoticed by them and snuck back through the gates and to the palace. "You _coward_!" I screamed. In those moments, I felt something wonderful yet horrible stir inside of me. It was pure rage. I let my chi fly off the handle; Razi yelped as the fire from my hands burned his arms which held mine. I grabbed the boy and flipped him over my head. He landed flat on his back in front of me. I knelt over and punched him in the jaw line, knocking him out. I sprang back up to my feet and charged towards the gates. As I flew up the path after the criminal, I could hear Zaida shouting my name behind me. But I didn't turn around. I pursued onward. Quin was known for being fast. If it was any other day, he would have outran me by that point. But it felt as if I had the speed of the gods as I thundered after the killer. I would not let him get away. I swore on my father's grave that I would avenge Sameer.

I made the ground shift and cave in were he ran. The boy jumped in all directions, wobbling this way and that. My bending was not as good when I was in pursuit. But he was definitely losing his equilibrium. Quin realized after a short while that he was being chased and attempted to book it. The knave took off into the courtyard of all places. Such memories I remembered took place there. We had all been united back then. And now, we were divided. Quin had no right to return to our youths' origin. It just made the memories seem vein to me. But it was a good thing we had come to that place. There would soon be nowhere for him to run.

"Murderer!" I hollered after him, sending fireballs at his feet. He picked them up quickly as the bottoms of his feet became burnt. He was headed for the water; which made sense, to soothe the burns. I paused quickly and pushed both of my fists out. The earth beneath him shot him forwards and he fell onto the grass, scrambling to get back up. In the pale light of the moon I could barely make out an emotion across the boy's face; fear. I propelled myself forward with the earth. I advanced on Quin. He was moving forward, though stole a glance back over his shoulder.

"Kari, please!" He seemed to beg. Maybe he hadn't said anything. It might have been my mind. But all I knew was that the boy was scared shitless. But he deserved every moment. He had killed my best friend; an innocent adolescent. And he had done so as if it were nothing. He didn't deserve my mercy. I was on him like an eagle on it's prey. I had gathered up a surplus of speed as I grabbed him by his shoulders and head. Seconds later, I drove him into the Willow Tree with force I didn't even know I had. A loud thunk could be heard as impact was made on the body of the tree. Short moments after, Quin's lifeless hazel eyes stared back at me. His head was tilted to the left on an odd angle. I moved my hand away from his head. Runny, red streams ran down my fingers and wrist. I gasped, sucking in a large amount of air. I took a closer look at the tree; red covered the area directly behind his head. It coated the bark. My insides were swimming in a pool of sick, denial and anger. "No..." I whispered to myself. I was no better than him. I had just become the very thing that I swore against. I heard someone coming, but I was in no position to flee.

"What the hell is going on out here?" A woman's voice; well not really a woman, a girl. Same age as me. A soprano ranged-demanding sounding voice. The voice that made most peoples' hairs on their back stand on end. I recognized this voice, but all too late.

As Azula came out into the courtyard, I let go of Quin, watching his body drop to the trunk of the Willow Tree. The movement in the grass ceased as Azula stopped in her tracks for a moment. I should have ran. I should have gotten out of there. But I knew that it wouldn't have made a difference whether I remained or fled. I turned to face her, like a true warrior on the verge of death; but spirits, my heart was beating like the drums of war themselves. I knew it would be over once she saw it was me. We were both able to tell one another right away even in the darkest of places. Azula glanced at the scene. Tufts of earth were strewn about the courtyard; and not just the grass. There were spots that were three feet or higher than what they were supposed to be. Her keen golden eyes widened into a look I hadn't seen in years. Pure shock. "Kari...?" She breathed my name. I wasn't sure if she was saying it in disbelief or to get my attention. Either way, I looked her dead in the eye. "You did this...?" There was no way I could lie to her. There was no way I could get out of this one. The evidence was all right in front of me. She hadn't seen me kill him, but the body was enough to make her believe whatever she wanted. The princess, to my surprise, looked more confused than anything. "...Why?"

"The same reason why you and the rest of the Fire Nation destroy the homes and lives of others; because you think it's right." Azula stared at me with a look I couldn't quite identify. I continued, not exactly sure what was going to come out of my mouth next. "I can't keep living a lie."

"Kari, what are you talking about?" Azula sounded worried, on the edge of frantic, even. My breathing rate increased.

"You know exactly what I'm going at." I corrected. "I was born in the Earth Kingdom-" she interrupted me.

"Yes, but-" I took my turn again.

" I'm not one of you." I began to choke up as I looked at my hand, still with red running down it. "I'm an earth-bender." I stamped my foot down on the ground to prove my point. "I don't belong here." Azula remained silent for a few short moments taking in the new information, I didn't know how she would take it.

"Kari, no one has to know." She looked at me sincerely. "You don't have to look at the past." I wanted to believe her. That I could pretend the events of that night had not happen. But no matter how much I tried to cover up the truth, it would keep coming back to haunt me. I had watched one take a life and had taken their's as well.

"No, Azula." I stood my ground. "I can't keep running away from myself. I want something that is real." I explained to her.

"This is real." she whispered. "Us." Mai had been right. How was I going to confront her on everything? I still had not revealed it all to the princess. So far things were not going as planned. But then again, when did they ever go swimmingly?

"I'm sorry Azula." I truly was. "But I have a different destiny. One that doesn't involve...you." It pained me to say that. We had been through so much together. We both had received hell, and now it was as if I was giving up on her. "I love you but I can't stay here." It hurt so much to say these words. The Fire Nation was the only home that I had known. "I've grown up in the ways of this nation, but I don't agree with it anymore. I used to think that all I wanted was to be like my father; to be a great General or Admiral. But now that my destiny has become something else, I don't want it. I _can't _want it anymore." My heart literally broke once I saw the look on Azula's face. She was suddenly innocent again; like a lost child. My insides ached and I wanted nothing more than to never have learned my destiny.

"You're just gonna leave? Like that." Something was off with her voice. Normally the princess was very straight-forward, but then she was struggling to find the right words. If there was any part of my heart still in tact, it was shattering to pieces in those moments.

"I have to do this." I heard my voice crack and realized that the sooner I leave, the easier it would be to remove myself from this place as well as Azula. "I can't sit here and watch day by day as my people are dying at the hands of yours." I didn't mean to point but I ended up doing so. The simple gesture made us feel even more separated. "Believe me, Azula. This was the last thing I wanted to happen. But what this nation is doing is wrong. And I can't live in a place like this anymore. This is goodbye."

With every step I took away from her and the courtyard, the more it felt as if I were losing a part of myself. I didn't know how I had the will power to leave her and everything else behind me. I knew I had a mission. I had to help end this war. I would find the avatar and help them restore balance. Maybe even fight alongside them. But then again, it was the avatar. They wouldn't need my help to stop the Fire Nation. They would have an unlimited supply of power. All of a sudden, Azula snapped. I'm not sure exactly what it was. Maybe it was because I was turning my back on her, maybe it was because she had anger bottled up over time.

"Get back here!" she yelled after me. I ignored her, and kept walking, despite her tone. " You're not leaving, I _own _you!" Her words drilled holes into my brain. Then something went off in me as well. All the times I had held my tongue when talked down to numerous times. All the displaced anger was forcing itself out of me at once. I whirled around on my heels.

"No. You don't own me!" I spelled it out for her. "Just like the Fire Nation doesn't own the rest of the world! So stop treating my people like they're some type of property. And I am leaving-this place has nothing for me anymore, it means nothing!" That came out a bit harsher than expected, but I wasn't conscious of that at the moment. "I'm going back to the Earth Kingdom. And when I find Jet, I'm going to grovel on my hands and _knees_. I'm going to repent for my deception and lies, and maybe he'll have it in his heart to forgive me for my life of evil." Dead silence followed my rant. Azula looked me dead in the eye, her golden eyes never once blinking. I felt stronger after telling her off, but something inside of me had a feeling that things were just going to get even worse. When I looked at her again, there was no kindness behind her eyes. All I could see was anger and frustration. It was as if she had forgotten everything between us in those short moments.

"You have wronged against the Fire Nation." The princess declared in a voice that made me nervous. "We have only one way to deal with traitors in this nation." My heart skipped a beat. I knew what was coming. I dreaded the next phrase which danced off her lips. I had been fearing this day for a long time; I hopped it would never happen, but it was right before my eyes. Golden defiance glowed within her eyes.

"Agni Kai."


	29. The End Is Nigh: Part IV

Soooo sorry guys. I had school and then there was thanksgiving. By the way hope everyone had a good TURKEY DAY! :3 I know I did. Anywho, here is another chapter. Enjoy please!  
~th3rdhal3~

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_When we start killing  
It all will be falling down  
From the hell that we're in  
All we are is fading away  
When we start killing  
_

Agni Kai. A fire duel. My heart began to race. No, this couldn't be happening. This could not be occurring right before my very eyes. Just like that she had snapped. I couldn't fight her. How could this be? There had to be another way. But I knew that the stubborn princess would not compromise. I racked my brain, trying to find a way to buy more time. "Can't I...at least mourn Sameer?" Azula sighed, appearing to be rather annoyed. I doubt she remembered nor cared in the least bit about the boy who we used to train with. I wondered if she would oppose my request. But the Fire Nation princess knew she couldn't deny me of that right.

"The duel grounds. Dawn." She decided at last. I bowed my head gracefully. I needed to be careful with how I acted around her. Since we were no longer on good terms, my behavior was very crucial to my survival. "How will I know you won't run off?" She questioned as I began to leave the palace grounds. I bit my tongue, but I couldn't hold my words back fast enough.

"I'm an earth-bender, Azula. Not a knave." I laughed dryly. "I know better than to bash tradition." I stopped myself from continuing, figuring that my tone wasn't exactly appropriate for the moment. I could never curb my speech properly. Azula did not respond to my answer negatively; I took that as a good omen.

"Fair enough." She nodded curtly; respectfully even, yet still distant. The princess turned away from me, in the direction of the duel grounds, I guessed. That was in it's own section on the West side of the palace.

I remained in the same spot for a little while, trying to take everything in from that night. But how could I? There was a great weight on my chest What had gone wrong? It seemed everything in my life was a big mistake. Mai was right; everything waited until the right moment to blow up in my face. And now I was stuck with the consequences. Loss, murder, betrayal. And for once, I was not the innocent one. I glanced at Quin's body still at the base of the Willow Tree. And deep inside me, I knew that I needed to finish what I started.

Gathering twigs, large sticks and branches, I placed them under and all around Quin. Once I was done, I lit one of the sticks and seconds later the bark and dead boy were surrounded by white flames. Even in the dark night, I could see the smoke rise up into the sky. The very same smoke which would fill twilight hours later.

_ Please, Shiva, _I prayed silently. _Forgive me for I have betrayed you. I have played your part and now have the blood of this boy on my conscience. Cleanse my soul as well as his, as he ascends into the afterlife._ As Quin began to burn to ash, I couldn't help but notice his face. He looked peaceful and at ease, not the face of a killer.

I found my friends carrying Sameer's body to the docks. "What happened?" Zaida asked as I helped Jade by holding up the boy's legs. I grew silent deciding whether or not I would tell them what I had done.

"What's done is done." I responded quietly. The air-bender could clearly identify the look on my face and asked no more. Instead, she informed me what they did with their enemies. After overpowering Deepthi, Kenzo and Naomi, the three had tied the unconscious trio up and hid them in a nearby barn. Razi had apparently run off, too scared to stick around and see what became of him.

We found the rest of the Rebels waiting by the ships in the docks. Flame was one of the first few to greet us. Once she and Sarayu caught sight of Sameer's body, they shrieked. "Holy shit!" Aram took a fearful step back.

"They knew we were conspiring." I informed them gravely. They were all horrified and confused. That is, until we told them how it started and how it all went down.

"Where is he?" Zahil demanded, after we told him about how Quin had stabbed us all in the back. It took Zaida and I both to hold back the tall boy. But it didn't matter now. Quin was long gone.

"I took care of him." I answered quickly and truthfully. The rest of the rebels paused to look at me. I hated the unnecessary attention. "But that's not the point. We have bigger things to worry about" I went on. "You all have to leave the Fire Nation. It's obvious that staying here would be disastrous. Corrine, are there any ships that aren't damaged?" The girl nodded.

"Yeah, there's a handful. We didn't have the chance to wreck very many."

"Okay, good. You can take one into the Earth Kingdom; preferably a smaller one. Don't worry, they're not too hard to navigate. I'm sure Aram can figure it out." Corrine stopped me in the middle of my instructions.

"Wait. What about you? You're not coming with us?" They all looked at me with reluctant, soulful eyes. The way animals look at you when they know you're about to eat them. I breathed in deeply.

"I can't leave here you guys. Two reasons: I have some unfinished business to attend to, also I'm a General. If I just go missing all of a sudden, that could create problems-stir up all kinds of trouble and attention. I don't want to give this nation a reason to hunt you all down." I explained to them. I wished that I could evacuate with them. I almost broke my word right there and then. I would have left with them. But If I did, I knew that I'd be putting my friends in danger. We'd be pursued all our lives. I wouldn't put them through that. "Once you reach the Earth Kingdom," I continued. "Go to a guy named Jet. He's the leader of another resistance called the Freedom Fighters- Zaida knows where to find them. He's probably your only safe bet. Jet's...not a big fan of the Fire Nation by any means," I warned. "So a change in clothes will definitely be necessary." They would need to be in incognito regardless though. They had sworn off the Fire Nation after all. "I don't think I could have met any better group." I smiled wryly at them all. "It was an honor fighting with all of you. I am truly proud to call you my allies, my friends...my family." I corrected myself. I watched them all beam at me, and realized how much I would miss each and every one of them. "We might be separated for a long time, but I know our paths' will cross again. Now go." I encouraged them. "Leave now and keep fighting for what you believe in."

I ended my little speech. Some of them had even begun to tear up; like Roje and Flame for example. A stinging sensation began to build up in my own eyes. It took me a few moments to realize that I was most likely never going to see them again. Another part of me seemed to vanish. The Rebels seemed hesitant at first, then began to board a small vessel. I smiled as I watched them prepare to set sail. I would never forget them or the memories.

Before I left, I approached Zaida, who was pushing a crate of supplies towards their ship. I decided to give her a hand. Once we passed the equipment off to Aram, I grasped my friend by the shoulders. "This is probably the last time you'll ever see me." I informed her off to the side, feeling guilty about lying to the others. "And I just want you to know that you're the greatest friend I've ever had." We held one another in a sisterly embrace.

"No. I know what you're doing." she discouraged me. One thing she was notorious for; knowing exactly what I got myself into on a daily basis. "Kari, don't. It's too risky." Zaida was completely right. I was risking a lot to return to the palace to duel. But I was only risking my own life-no one else's. It didn't matter much to me, as long as my friends, my family were safe. But it wasn't just a means of survival. It was an age old tradition. I had grown up in this nation. I would abide by spiritual traditions. I would not disgrace Agni.

"I'm against this just as much as you are." I told her. "But this is something I have to face. It won't do me any good if I keep running away from my problems. I have to stand my ground, Zaida. You've gotta trust me." I drew in a deep breath. "Tell Jet, that I'm sorry...for everything, for me. Tell him to keep fighting." I thought my air-bender friend would never let me leave her Platypus-Bear grasp. But eventually she let go of me. She looked at me one last time with those perky green eyes of hers.

"Bye sis." Zaida chocked back tears. We both turned to leave one another. "Oh, and Kari," she called out. I turned around. "Try not to die." A small smirk played upon her lips. I smiled genuinely back at her, as I felt the smallest trickle of water run down my cheek.

I lifted my head up to the sky. The dark black shade was beginning to lighten up. Almost dawn. I had to get moving. I found Jade knelt down at the edge of a pier. The warrior girl held a samurai sword in one hand and a beige cloth in the other; she stroked the blade, purifying her weapon of blood and refuse. She heard me approaching and moments later our eyes met. I felt compelled to show my gratitude. Though her beginning intentions were to harm me, I was glad that she had been swayed to join our side. "Thank you." I gave her the most sincere and gracious look I could manage. Jade stood up, placing her swords back into their sheaths.

"No, thank you." I blinked. She left the wooden pier and came up to me. "If it weren't for you or your friends, I would still be fighting for the wrong reasons." I felt obliged by her comment. I was surprised that she thanked me in return. I really didn't deserve it. I looked over to the ship my friends were now boarding.

"They're headed for the Earth Kingdom." I nodded my head in the direction if the boat. "You should go with them. They could use you." I chuckled softly. Jade followed my gaze over to where the ship was still docked. She appeared to be mulling it over in her mind. She smiled at me but shook her head.

"You know," she began. "Funny thing, groups; not really my thing." We laughed quietly in unison.

"But where will you go?" I wondered. Surely she couldn't stay in the Fire Nation. Not after that night. Jade looked off into the distance, the night's wind gently brushed through her hair. She shrugged.

"Anywhere I guess." She finally answered. "I'll take a boat. Go exploring. I've always wanted to go to the Northern Water Tribe. Or maybe I'll study swordsmanship with Master Piando." I nodded. Traveling seemed like such the life. I felt slightly envious of her in those short moments. She was free to do what she wished. I was not so fortunate. But I had a tast at hand, and I wasn't about to let my mind cloud up with visions of grandeur. Jade appeared to be reading my mind. "Sankari, don't let your guard down." She warned me. "You fire-benders tend to get a bit neurotic..." That was very true. "You probably have more of a chance against her than I ever did." How easy was I able to be read? Though her words were meant to comfort and encourage, my hope began to fade. If Jade admitted to not having a chance against Azula, then what did that mean for me? I could feel a knot form in my stomach already. "But I have full confidence in you." The ninja girl placed a hand on my shoulder. "You're bending is controlled, that's good. You can quell your anger, she can't." I felt slightly better after the pep talk. Jade smiled at me one more time before retreating to the other vessels. "Now go show her what the Earth Kingdom is made of."

* * *

My heart pounded so hard that I was sure it would rip out of my chest at any moment. The earth felt so good against my bare feet as I ran. I had told Azula I would be there right at Dawn. I didn't want to break any more promises. Though now it was at the point where it didn't exactly matter, I wanted to keep my word. It was a morale of mine. As I ran around to the West side of the palace, I couldn't help but think of previous conversations. _"I have full confidence in you." _Jade had told me. I felt hopeful. _"Try not to die." _Zaida had remarked. Real encouraging. That's when it hit me. This was for real. No longer did I have anyone to hold my hand. I could very well die that night. Agni Kai was intended to prove who was the better fire-bender, but in many cases it was a fight to the death. My mouth was dry as I swallowed, feeling as if something was stuck in my throat. A tingly feeling warped itself all around my body; from my finger tips up to my head and back down through my toes. I wasn't ready, but I had to be.

Azula was already waiting once I arrived. It had been ages since I had been to this particular part of the palace. I soon realized that it was the same place that coorinations took place. No one else was present, it was just her and I. The princess stood at the opposite end. Though it was only a matter of yards she seemed so far away. I stood up tall and straight to show her that I wasn't afraid. "This isn't how I want it to end." I called out to her. "But if you're so persistent, then I guess this is it." I spread my feet apart in a chungle-jasse stance and held my arms up in sudo form; I could feel them shake slightly in anticipation. Azula readied herself as well from her end. She punched outward, sending hot, blue flames my way. I side-stepped and extinguished most of them with a swiping motion of my hand.

"What's wrong? Not going to earth-bend yourself out of this one?" Azula stared me down with wonder. I held my hands up again in defense. I kicked, shooting white flames right back at her. The attack wasn't as powerful as I had hoped.

"I've already told you." I gritted my teeth at her. "I'm not going to bash tradition. I will fight honorably." I ducked down while cross-hand blocking as more flames came at me. Azula and I were soon fighting hand to hand combat. It made me think back several years, to better days.

"Honorably?" She laughed humorlessly, while trying to slice my head off with a ridge-hand. I blocked open handedly. "You're beginning to sound like my brother. You even fight like him!" Azula swept my right leg from right out under me. I had to admit though, it wasn't a very stance at the time. Instead of falling, I pushed off from the ground with my hands and side flipped out of the way. I had to agree with the princess; Zuko didn't have the best form in the world. But unlike the banished prince, I thought my moves out carefully.

We had both been going at it for about ten minutes. It was incredibly hard. Fighting Azula was like fighting my father; it just couldn't be done. It wasn't the fact that she was overpowering, though the princess was an extraordinary fire-bender, it was that I couldn't find it in me to truly face her. It tore my heart apart the fact that we were even fighting to hurt one another. Most of my movements were defensive. I needed to actually fight back, but I didn't know if I could. But what scared me the most was the look in her eyes. It told me that she was ready to kill me. I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't see a jet of blue hurtling towards me. It hit my side and caused me to drop down close to the ground. I had forgotten how skilled this woman was. I was beginning to think that Jade was wrong. There was no way that I could match Azula's power. I was going down in ways that were unimaginable.

Azula began to catch on to what was going on. "Fight back!" she shouted, sending barrages of blue flames at me. I jumped up, crescent-kicking them as they projected towards me. Azula pushed an enormous cloud of blue fire at me. I countered it with billows of white fire. The two colors collided up in the air. The force was beginning to push me back but I stood my ground, if her flames overpowered mine, there was no telling what state I'd be in then. It took all of my mental strength to keep my flames stationary. I couldn't lose this. Not now, anyway. I could feel the muscles in my arms screaming as the two of tried to push the other's flames back. The force was extremely strong. Stronger than anything I had ever felt. Then, to my dismay, blue engulfed white. I was hit hard, thrown backwards to be exact I knew that once I hit the ground I probably wasn't going to get back up.

_You have everything you need within you._

Kyoshi's words echoed in my head in those short, nerve-racking moments. Instantly, my mind took me back to when I first read the White Dragon scroll. I could clearly see the parchment in my head. It was all coming back to me: _One may tap into the form of the White Dragon once a peace of __mind state has been reached._ I had mere seconds before I could potentially be fatally wounded. But I thought it was worth a shot. I couldn't believe what I was doing, especially at the exact moment. But this was my only hope of survival. Only moments before hitting the stone ground. I closed my eyes and dulled my senses. Every muscle in my body began to relax. And right before the end, I could feel something take over.

* * *

**AZULA'S POV**

I watched her limp body fall back from the impact. The blow could have killed her, should have even. But something happened right before Sankari hit the ground. She placed her palm against the stone and pushed down, propelling herself upright once more. But when she turned to face me once more, it wasn't...her.

Stormy gray eyes were now replaced with blinding white sockets. There was a white glow all around her body; the tips were white flames. She began to walk towards me. Her teeth were barred and I was shocked to see fangs where her normal canines were. For the first time in seven years, I had been truly afraid. I, princess Azula, afraid. But I wouldn't let the weak emotion take over me. I would be strong, just like my father, Firelord Ozai, taught me to be.

I conjured up more fire, with ease and sent it at her. Sankari didn't even flinch. She rose one hand up and pushed the blue flames down. She had barley even moved. How could this be? I kicked hard outward, blue flames shooting out from the bottom of my foot. Again, Sankari deflected the fire with one swift movement. And still, she drew closer. There was nothing I could do to fight her. All of my attacks backfired. Sankari always countered them with what appeared to be no effort. I didn't want to believe it but Sankari had become the White Dragon.

* * *

**SANKARI'S POV**

The feeling flowing through my veins was incredible. Simply amazing. So much power was in my hands. It seemed as though nothing could mortally wound me. Azula had tried a handful of times by that point, but her strong blue flames were useless against me in this form. The frantic princess resorted to one last measure.

I watched curiously, as Azula extended two fingers outward in each hand as she gathered up momentum for her strike. Thin blue streaks appeared and disappeared again and again as she moved her arms in the right formations. She pushed her right arm outward, two fingers extended; a jet of lightning flashed as it shot out at me. Though I had the power of the White Dragon within me, my heart still skipped a beat. A Split second later, the lightning was closing in on me. I held out my hand to capture it, and the force of the energy made my arm drop down to my side. My arm shook violently as I watched the energy churn in my palm. It began to work it's way up my arm. It would've been so easy to return the favor to Azula. After all, she had tried to kill me. The blue energy was at my shoulder now, slowly creeping up higher. Azula waited, fear taking over her face. I moved quickly, punching high up into the air, releasing the raw power into the sky. The lightning crackled twice, sending vibrant flashes across the horizon. Short moments later, I felt drained. As if life itself had been sucked from me. I dropped down to my knees, feeling all the power leave me body.

Once I came to, I took a good look around me. Scorch marks were everywhere; the ground, the walls even some of the pillars. The strong aroma of smoke was still in the air. I coughed several times, trying to clear it out of my respiratory system. I held my hand up to the side of my face. The scar by my right eye had opened up again, and I could feel the warm liquid oozing out once more. That's when I looked up. Azula knelt only a few meters away. Her head was down, her bangs dipped forward. I could detect little movement from her. My mind raced. Oh no. Had I somehow...without giving it much thought, I hurried over to the princess. I approached her cautiously, in case she retaliated. Her hand was pressed over her eyes and the bridge of her nose. Her shoulders shook every so often. No. She wasn't...crying?

"Azula?" I broke the silence, uncertain of whether I should have. The princess stopped moving entirely and slowly pulled her hand away from her face.

"Go." She breathed ever so silently. She did not so much as glance at me.

"Azula, I"-

"Just go!" Her head snapped up to look at me. Golden eyes pierced through my soul. Her tone came back down gradually. "You can't stay here." Where was she going with this? "They're going to find out what happened, Sankari. My father will know." Her voice was grave and fearful. "I might be able to cover your tracks but I don't know for how long." I was still in awe. The compassionate girl I had befriended at the Koi Pond had returned. Azula had found the light again.

"But, how? What should I..."

"Run."

* * *

The hunt was on. It had been two days since I had fled from the palace, my old life. Two days since Azula had told me to leave, to save myself. Two days of running for my life. I thought the forests would be safest, but Azula had been right; she wouldn't be able to pretend that nothing happened. To pretend that my absence was nothing, to pretend that Quin had dropped dead on his own accord. The only way to insure that no one would know anything, was to make myself disappear. But they were coming for me; the Order of the Flames. The remaining members. And I couldn't fight this one alone.

The faster I pushed myself, the more I could feel my muscles ache. The bottoms of my feet were most likely bleeding from the rocks and shrubs of the woods. I inhaled and exhaled quickly; smoke. I smelled the thick and horrid smog. Though the night concealed its image, there was no denying the scent. It was filling in through the trees, and soon bright orange lights danced everywhere. They were burning down the forest.

I panicked. It was just how it had been eleven years ago. I could see myself, running for my life while my village was in peril. People were screaming. Homes were destroyed. Such a small child, I had been but I had known something was wrong. In those moments I felt as helpless as a child. I was scared and didn't know which way to turn. The heat kicked up a notch and my shirt clung to my skin from the sweat. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be surrounded. I might have even died of smoke inhalation before they would even find me. But I kept running, with a small patch of hope in my heart. I thundered through the trees deeper and deeper into the woods. I bushed branches and kicked shrubs out of my way as I went. I could hear footsteps behind me, following me, chasing me. I knew very well whom they belonged to. I could sense it in the vibrations sent to my foot through the ground. I could see it coming up, my last chance of survival; a drop off. My pursuer knew of my intentions and stayed right behind me all the way. I was six feet away from the descending wherever the drop off would take me. "Kari!" The scream would haunt me forever. My back foot left the earth. I jumped.


	30. Epilogue

Sooooo sorry I've made you all wait and wait and wait and wait for an update. There is this marvelous bitch called 'highschool' which I'm sure you're all aware of. It is finals week so I am packed with excess things to do. Sadly this is the last chapter :( but THANK YOU ALL for reading, I feel so special that so many have added me to subscriptions and given me so many positive comments, you guys rock! Anyway, I'll shut up now xD Enjoy!  
~th3rdhal3~

* * *

_It's all over, it's all over, it's all over in a flash_

_I can't remember_

_what have I done now?_

It's quiet now. Nearly three months had passed. There hadn't been a day that had gone by where I hadn't wished to relive the last five years of my life. Mai left with her family to dwell in another conquered city, and Ty Lee had returned to the circus weeks ago. Many days, I resided in resentment and drowned myself in my sorrow. How could I let this happen? The one time I let love into my life, and look what it did to me. It tried to change me for the better, but ended up blowing up in my face. It made me become something worse. It destroyed me. Never again. Never again would I love.

Sometimes I would still think about everything. About _her. _It seemed as though my mind was still in denial from the previous events. I thought I knew her. I thought I knew the girl who had once been my rival as a small child. Had I known that our lives would be changed forever that fateful morning? Had I known then, at eight years old, that we would change each other for better and for worse? Of course I didn't. How could I have known?

No. I was strong. Determined. I would not be swayed to remorse or regret. Only the weak seek comfort in those types of emotions. And I would never be weak. I sat on the edge of my bed, alone, isolated, contemplating. My hand came up to my face, slightly caressing the side of my neck. I could feel the remnants of a burn that never healed. Though it wasn't visible anymore, I could still feel it; physically and emotionally.

The flames crackled as I paced down the path to the throne. The walk felt as if forever though it was only a few meters. I knelt down on the stone floor in front of my liege, my ruler. My father. I had been called to see him. I could only imagine what he would ask of me. He waited until it is apparent that we were the only two in the throne room. The only light came from the fire up beside his elaborate gold throne; a vibrant orange, dancing only stairs above me. "Iroh is a traitor, your brother Zuko is a failure," My father's words echoed darkly across the pillars in the throne room. I had heard about the news with the siege in the North. My father was outraged with our defeat. My brother still had not managed to capture the avatar, and my uncle had stepped in the way of the now late Commander Zhao. It seemed as though my whole family was full of treachery. "...and Sankari's death is a disappointing tragedy..." My mind instantly replayed that night.

There was so much noise; awful dins. So much destruction. The night was filled with heavy smoke and ash that filled my lungs. It was two days after the fight; the Agni Kai between Sankari and I. Two days after I had told her to run. We both knew what had to be done. I could have easily let her go, let her leave without conflict or a catch. But at the same time, we both knew that wasn't possible. My actions would eventually be held accountable, and I couldn't risk that; at least not in the position that I was in. She had been on the run for two days. It was at that time, when I called for the bounty hunters; the remaining members of the Order of the Flames. I only realized my mistake too late. As I watched the forest begin to burn, I knew that she was inside. Every moment that went by made me feel even more anxious. I couldn't tell what was happening. I was compulsive; I needed to know.

I joined in the chase, following her tracks carefully. She was a master at maneuvering, only I was able to pursue her for so long. Every branch I pushed out of my path, every tree root I evaded, every ditch I hurtled over, the more I wondered what kept drawing me back to mercy; to her. Was it really love, regret, or guilt? I called out to her. Not once, but many times. Still, she kept running. I followed her down the stretch of land that began to decline. I was cautious with my footing as I descended. Had I kept my pace, I might have been able to stop her. Only when I was on flat land again was when I realized where she was headed. It was too late now. My head told me to stop but my heart told me to go as I followed her all the way to the ledge. I screamed her name, louder than I've ever screamed anything before. She hesitated ever so slightly, before dropping off the landing.

I could hear the clap of the water, still in my ears. I could still see her body, six feet under. Listless and still. I nearly shuddered as I wiped my mind of those images, those memories. I didn't want to see them. I didn't want to remember. I wouldn't remember. It all happened so quickly. The image of the chase slowly faded to white as I erased Sankari from my memory. _She lied to you_. My subconscious hissed in my ears. _She didn't deserve your mercy. She left you. You were blind, she never loved you. All this time you t someone could actually love you. She's just like her. Just like her. Just like your mother._

"I have a task for you." My sight returned to the throne room. I slowly lifted my head up to my father, my commander. The infamous smirk creeping up the right side of my face; the smirk that would soon be feared by the avatar himself.

* * *

**Sankari's POV**

Three months had gone by, but in actuality, it seemed like more; years even. I had expected most to believe that I had drowned that fateful night. No matter how I tried, I couldn't forget my escape in the Iron Forest. For weeks on end, I had reoccurring nightmares of the event. The smoke, the fire, the strong sense of fear.. The worst part of the fall was the drop itself. My stomach handled it rather well though. I expected worse from a fifty foot drop. I was blessed with the ability to swim. I had to hold my breath for a while before resurfacing, making sure that I was not seen. I didn't want the Fire Nation on my trail any longer. It was a big stretch for me, but faking my own death was the only solution I had at the time. As much as I regret it now, I really had no choice.

Azula had crossed my mind plenty of times over the period of time that passed. I felt terrible for keeping the truth from her. She had every right to be upset with me. Yet I couldn't believe after everything, she always came back to me, in spite of everything I put her through. I didn't deserve to receive her love. She didn't deserve what I had did to her. The princess had suffered enough in he lifetime. It hurt me to know how much hell I put that girl through. I was the one person who truly understood her. I doubted that she'd ever open up to anyone else after my flight. Many nights I'd sit out in the dark, contemplating my existence. My hand would reach up to touch the scar at the corner of my right eye. Though the it was barely visible anymore, I could still feel it; physically and mentally. And as I would trace the mark upon my face, I wondered if she could feel her scar as well. And if so, did it still hurt her too?

I hid in the outskirts of the homeland, and eventually caught transportation back to the Earth Kingdom. Never again, would I return to the Fire Nation. I traveled a bit on my own before settling down in Gaoling, a nice society town. I was going to restart my life in the nation I should have remained in. I permanently changed my name to Karuna. Sankari was no more. Besides, I wouldn't be welcomed with open arms if the Earth Kingdom citizens knew about who I once had been. I received a job at Master Yu's Earth-Bending Academy. There were many children enrolled, and Yu had his hands full. I acted as an aid for the young earth-benders; helping them improve their form. It's not a profession that I imagined myself doing as a young child, but then again, I didn't picture myself doing half the things I had done in my lifetime.

The night air was cool that evening. Like most nights, I took a stroll around the town. I found it a soothing practice that helped relieve stress. If only I had known that years ago. I was passing a large property of land, owned by the richest family in the town. I admired the work on the hedges. The landscape was a sight to behold. Then all of a sudden, I heard quick footsteps drawing nearer. Up ahead, a girl was running towards me. I could barely make out her figure in the dim lantern lights. It looked as if she was in a real hurry. She came to an abrupt stop only a few meters away from me. Even though we were several feet apart, I could tell she was a great deal shorter than me; she wore a long green and yellow belted tunic, with tan pants. The girl had black hair and had a green headband with white puff balls at the sides. Like me, I noticed that she was also barefoot. The girl glanced around her quickly, as if not wanting to be seen. Her behavior seemed odd and a little suspicious. Then, her head snapped forward, looking in my direction with glassy light blue eyes.

With a movement so quick, the girl stepped forward and pushed her hands out, sending an earth shock wave at me. If I had moved a second later, I would have definitely been hit. I crouched on the ground, my right hand out in front, bracing myself. I was completely out of it. It had been a while since I was forced into combat, and my skills were a bit shaky. I thanked the gods that I was able to react so quickly. The girl's movements were swift and smooth. The girl slid her left foot outwards and down. A wall of rock sprung up from the ground and came at me full force. I punched with my right, cutting clear through the wall, unharmed. I lifted the broken rock and hurled it at my attacker. The girl didn't even attempt to move! I watched in awe as she remained still until only moments before the rock hit her. She stepped to the side at the last minute, barely missing the rock and chucked it back at me. I threw my foot in front of me, breaking the boulder in two. This girl was crazy. "Kid!" I shouted. "What the hell is your problem?" The girl narrowed her eyebrows and glared right back at me.

"I'm not a kid!" She hollered back in whiny high pitched voice that really didn't prove her point

"I'm twelve and a half" She proudly stated. Wow, only twelve years old and already that good of a bender? I had become more alert over the last three months. In that time it was very rare that I was caught off guard, and this girl had managed to do that.

"They still call me a kid and I'm fourteen." I retorted gently, trying to cut the kid some slack. It was kind of late. She was probably just scared and being cautious. My attacker, lowered her guard and took on a more relaxed looking stature. Her glare lightened up into a half smile.

"Oh you're my age. You from around here?" Her tone brightened up too. I stood there, feeling a bit awkward. She had just tried to hurt me moments before, but then again, it was probably just in self defense. Seconds later, I found my voice again.

"Yeah."

"So you're a girl then?" She asked after a moment of pondering, taking a few steps closer. Another awkward silence passed. She was standing right in front of me. Could she not tell that I was of the female species? I mean, I wasn't as busty or voluptuous as Ty Lee and my hair wasn't as long as it had once been, but still.

"Um yeah, can't you tell?" I asked, a bit insensitively. The girl waved a hand in front of her face a couple of times. It took me a moment to get what she meant. She was blind. That's why here eyes appeared so glazed and light. I felt bad for my last comment. "I'm sorry." I apologized. The girl's expression instantly morphed back into a smile.

"That's okay. You seem cool enough. You're bending is pretty good, though I'm still much better. No offense." She socked it to me. I was about to object but then realized my efforts would be a waste. The kids had spunk. I liked that. "My name's Toph." The girl named Toph cracked her knuckles. She seemed so familiar somehow, though I couldn't quite place my finger on it. My eyes drifted back to the large house, where we stood at the edge of. I caught sight of the symbol on the gate leading onto the property. A boar; with wings. _What and odd looking creature, _I thought. Suddenly, an image was projected into my mind and I was taken away from where I stood.

_Large rooms. Endless halls. Servants. Vast gardens. Running. Laughing. Two very small children playing outside in the lush, green grass. The oldest looked back at the younger one, seeing if she was still following her. A broad grin played upon her small, round face. The younger child had short black hair and very light blue eyes. She stumbled as she ran, but giggled along with the other little girl. "Waih, Runa!" She called out in a small little baby voice. "Cohm bah!"_

In a flash I returned to the present. My breathing was heavy and I blinked many times, trying to decide if it was real or just a pretend. "Anybody home?" The girl waved a hand in my face, startling me for a brief second. "I said 'who are you?'" Once I was awake once more, I took a good look at Toph. Raven black hair, glassy blue eyes. My mind slowly began to process the epiphany. I was beginning to remember it all now. Everything. She waited, hands on her hips, looking slightly irritated.

"You wouldn't remember..." I began. "you were very young." Toph looked in my direction, a confused expression upon her childish face. "We used to visit each other every day in the spring and summer. We'd chase one another outside in the grass..." I trailed off, watching as the girl's eyes widened as something clicked inside her brain as well.

"It's me Toph," I breathed, barely louder than a whisper; so thrilled that I was reunited with her once again. "Karuna Bei Fong. Your cousin."

**_The End...Or is it?..._**

_

* * *

_

**Thank you all for being such wonderful fans! This series has been so much fun to write. I really do love writing. You can definitely expect more from me. In fact here's a link for a Harry Potter fanfic that I just started working on, it's called 'Light in the Darkness': .net/s/6511250/1/Light_In_the_Darkness**

**Once again, thanks all of my readers, you all have inspired me to keep writing. Also if you have any suggestions for fanfic ideas or anything of the sort, comment or message me, I'm always looking for opinions :D**


	31. A New Beginning

First off, I want I want to thank everyone who took the time to

read and review my fic, _"Memoirs of Sankari: Pride of the Fire Nation"_

a lot of you have been asking for another side story or sequel so

I decided what the heck, and guess what...there _**IS**_ a** sequel**! It's called:

"**The Journey of Karuna: Ally of the Avatar"**

I started it a few months back, but a while after the first fic had

been completed so a lot of my followers and fans thought I

decided against making a sequel but it's up here on

The** genre** is the same as the last fic: **Adventure/Romance**

The characters are listed differently: **Toph & Aang**

This is because Azula doesn't have as big of a role in

the sequel as the gang does...at least not yet she doesn't!

Anywho, I just wanted to let it be known that the sequel **IS** out

and your comments and reviews would be greatly appreciated

You guys all rock!

**~th3rdhal3~**


	32. Author Note: Avatar Wiki

Hey everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the summer and doing well. Just to let you know, I** just created a fanon avatar wiki page** for my character Sankari/Karuna. You can check it out here: **www.(avatar)wiki/Fanon:Karuna_Bei_Fong**

FYI the page is still being worked on but the basics are all on there. The images I've uploaded from the page are actually from the movie Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon-only reason for this is because my artist has yet to design sketches for my stories and I want readers/fans to finally see a visual of what the character looks like. Hopefully, the drawings/sketches will be finished soon so I can upload them.

Thanks for being awesome guys and I **hope everyone has a happy 4th!**

**~th3rdhal3~**


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